The Proposal
by Blade of Justice
Summary: Planeptune is on its last limbs. Shares are at an all time low, Neptune has run herself ragged trying to support what's left of her country, and Nepgear has been comatose for weeks. Fearing the demise of their nation imminent, Histoire summons the other CPUs to request that they save Planeptune, using the only means left: One of the CPUs... must marry Neptune.
1. Chapter 1

"How is she, Histy?"

An exhausted Neptune trudged her way into Planeptune's Basilicom, wiping the sweat from her brow. She had just delivered a speech to the people of Planeptune, transformed of course, but even the simple act of speaking for an extended period of time when in her transformed state was taking its toll on her.

"She still hasn't woken up... But our shares did increase after your speech, if only marginally, so she's at least not in any risk of getting worse. For now, at least..."

Neptune might have made a wisecrack under normal circumstances, but... No, this was getting to be how normal circumstances were, weren't they? Letting out a groan, she let her tired body collapse into the nice, poofy armchair that had been moved to her sister's bedside.

It had been two weeks since Nepgear had suddenly crashed, though none of the other nations - or even anyone in Planeptune outside of Neptune and Histoire - had been made aware of this fact. The reason why was obvious - Planeptune shares had been dropping for a long time now, and no amount of work seemed to be raising them to the point that Neptune and Nepgear could consider themselves "healthy" again.

"What're we gonna do, Histy...?" Neptune stood up, tired as she was, to move to her sister's side. Nepgear could be a little too overprotective sometimes, and a lot of the time she was a bit of a doormat, but... Neptune never wanted this!

Nepgear's skin was pale, and she was covered in sweat. She had been running a fever for days, and frankly, Neptune had never been more worried about anything in her life. She had actually been working - and not just a little, either, but she'd been working her little butt off in the hopes that shares would rise and she and her sister could get healthy again.

But nothing was working. Nepgear's condition gradually continued to worsen, and Neptune was following right behind her. The fact that Neptune was using most of her free time working, when given the circumstances she should have been resting to make sure she didn't end up like her sister, was only making matters worse.

The cold, hard truth was that it seemed as though Planeptune was done for, and no amount of hard work seemed to be helping. Every day, even with Neptune out doing quests nonstop and making speeches to the people, immigration to other nations continued.

It wasn't like Neptune or Nepgear had done anything wrong... It had been a gradual thing, over a long period of time, at first. The other nations continued pumping out more and more impressive hardware, constantly in competition, while Planeptune continued to reign supreme with what it had, seemingly trapped - unable to create.

It wasn't for a lack of trying, though. Once it had become clear that things were going downhill, not even Neptune was able to sit on her tush and play games all day. She tried, really she did, but it just wasn't good enough. The damage had been done.

Neptune's proudest achievement, the Nepcast, was supposed to change everything. It was going to turn things around, and bring all of the people that had left running back. Neptune was so sure about it - she had never worked so hard in her entire life! But now her and Nepgear's lives had been on the line, she couldn't afford to play around anymore!

She stayed in her HDD form constantly, making sure no mistakes were made in the development of the Nepcast. She made sure there was software for it, and she even got a few top developers on board so that people could see there would be a lot to come if they invested in her - if they put their faith back in Planeptune.

... But it was a flop. The other CPUs couldn't even mock her for it, it had done so badly. The last time the four of them had met, Neptune just laughed it off, saying she'd do better next time, and changed the subject, but even they knew something was up.

Histoire floated over to Neptune, who had been leaning over Nepgear's bed, and sighed. Neptune had, once again, collapsed. At least now she could finally wear that ditzy expression that Histoire was so used to seeing on the girl's face...

But no. Even asleep, Neptune couldn't bring herself to be at peace. Too much weighed on her shoulders now. Who knew how long it would be before Neptune would fall, like Nepgear before her? Then it would just be a matter of time before the last of Planeptune's shares dried up, and the two of them would...

Histoire shuddered at the thought. Though she was often hard on them, she would never wish anything on these girls, and certainly not death.

Something had to be done before it was too late.

She hadn't wanted to do this, but... Looking at the poor state of the girls who had once spent their days goofing off yet still managing fine, Histoire made her decision. It was time to call the other three nations.

It was time to ask for help.

* * *

The CPUs of Lastation, Leanbox, and Lowee all exchanged glances as they awaited to be greeted. They had all been called to Planeptune, and, on quite short notice at that, been told to rush over as soon as possible.

Under normal circumstances, the three might have ignored Histoire's plea, or at the very least not rushed as quickly as they had, but given how out of character Neptune had been acting these past few months, not to mention the Nepcast disaster, something told all of them that this was important enough that their own work could be put on hold.

"So neither of you have seen or heard from Nepgear either?" Vert had gotten right down to business as soon as they had finished seating themselves and exchanging pleasantries (along with the usual teasing, though today, even that was toned down).

The two other CPUs shook their heads, and for a moment, there was silence. Clearly, the same, horrible thought was running through all of their minds - it would certainly explain the drastic change in Neptune, but wouldn't she have said something if that were the case...?

"... You don't think..." Blanc was the first to speak up, but her gaze refused to leave the ground. Sure, Planeptune had been in a bad way lately, but... It wasn't THAT bad, was it...?

"O-Of course not! She's probably just..." Noire trailed off, her voice fading. Though she had no idea what Nepgear "probably just" was, the mere idea that sweet little Nepgear had left them was too much for her to consider any more - especially knowing what that news would do to her own sister.

"I'm sure there's a perfectly logical explanation for everything that's been happening," Vert tried to reason, but from the tone of her voice, it was clear that she didn't quite believe it herself.

And yet... Seeing Neptune constantly working and making speeches... The lack of Nepgear anywhere...

There could only be one logical answer.

The silence was deafening. Sure, in the past they had all always fought over shares and territory, but they had gotten over that, hadn't they? They'd gotten on good terms with each other, thanks to Neptune no less, and...

"Thank you for coming so quickly, ladies. I truly appreciate that you were able to leave your own nations so readily to come."

The one who finally broke the seemingly endless silence was none other than Planeptune's Oracle. The small Oracle's voice seemed to jolt all three CPUs out of their stupors, and they quickly - shamefully - worriedly - looked in the direction of Histoire, all secretly praying that Neptune and her sister would trot out behind her, with huge smiles on their faces, declaring that this was the most awesomest prank ever.

But the sisters didn't come.

"Where's Neptune?" Noire was the first to ask, and from Histoire's reaction, it was clear that this was a topic she had been hoping to avoid for the time being.

"Resting... And that's why I called you all here today, actually," Histoire waved her hand, calling forth various graphs and other images displaying the current state of Planeptune for the CPUs to view. It took only a few seconds for the three to process just how bad things were

"I-Is this a joke!?" Noire was the first to speak, even standing out of her seat and slamming her hands onto the table they were all seated around.

"It has to be. No country has ever been in a state like this before," Blanc quickly followed up with her own brand of denial.

Vert, on the other hand, could only look grim.

"... This would explain why no one has seen Nepgear recently, though. It would explain everything, in fact," Getting straight to the point, Vert crossed her arms, her tone deadly serious. She didn't like being left in the dark, and she liked even less that this had been going on for weeks and no one had come to them. "How is she, Histoire? And Neptune?"

Histoire sighed, waving away all of the images displaying Planeptune's status. Noire lowered herself, also wanting to know the answer

"Nepgear has been unconscious since after her last speech to the people. Transforming for that length of a time was probably too much for her, or maybe she just simply didn't have enough left..." Histoire shook her head, unable to look at the three CPUs - she didn't want to see their expressions right now, though she was sure she could guess what they were. "Neptune is better off, but only just so. She's resting right now. Actually, she doesn't even know you're here... That's how bad things are."

Silence reigned supreme once again. The idea that they could lose Neptune and Nepgear? Preposterous. As much as they hated to admit it, those two were like the center of their... everything. A world without them just didn't seem like a world at all.

"T... That bitch! How the hell can she just go and do this without saying a damn thing...!?"

It was Blanc that had made the exclamation. It made sense, after all. She and Neptune had been rivals for a long time before Leanbox and Lastation had ever been in the picture - and long before the peace they had now had even seemed like an idea.

"Why did you call us here? Is there something we can do?" Vert, being the most mature of the group, was trying to keep calm, but inside, she was reeling. This felt unreal. With everything they'd all been through, with all the evils they'd faced, to lose a friend to something like this...? It was like some kind of sick joke!

Noire, on the other hand, was in shock. The blood had drained from her face, and the whole world had felt suddenly dark, and empty.

Neptune was...? She could lose Neptune...?

That was just... wrong. Neptune was always supposed to be there. The mere idea that she might be facing a life without her was just... It made her want to throw up.

Sure, Neptune was annoying, and she before this crisis, she was a lazy slob that never worked, and she made fun of Noire all the time, but the truth was... The truth was that Noire really...

"W-Well, actually... That's why I've called you all here today," Histoire's expression had changed. It looked noticeably less grim, and instead... Was it... flustered? Was now really the time for that?! "T-There is... one way that you can help the two of them, and in fact, the entirety of this nation, b-but... Um... Only one of you can do it, and... Um..."

"W-What are you waiting for?" Noire was grabbing for Histoire's every word like a starved animal that had just been loosed into a buffet. There was hope? There was hope! Neptune was going to be okay! "Sheesh, if there's something we can do, just tell us!"

"She's right. Instead of getting us worked up, just spit it out already," For once, Blanc was in complete agreement with Noire. Vert simply nodded to show her agreement with the other two, but Histoire still seemed hesitant. Twitching, Blanc slammed her fist onto the table. "Out with it already, damn it! Every second counts, doesn't it!?"

That finally got Histoire's gears turning. The little fairy-like Oracle adjusted her dress and, after taking a deep breath, tossed aside her nervousness to face the CPUs head on.

"V-Very well. Everyone, there is one, and only one, way to save Neptune, Nepgear, and Planeptune."

The three CPUs leaned in, all ready to pledge themselves to whatever cause they would have to in order to save their purple haired friends.

"You... That is to say... One of you must..."

The three learned further, almost touching each other now, their eyes trained exclusively on Histoire.

"One of you must... One of you must merge your nation with Planeptune... A-And marry our CPU!"

And with that, any hope of this meeting remaining completely serious went right out the window.

"M-M-M-M-Maaarryyyyyy!?" Noire's face was on fire. Marry? Neptune? Marry Neptune!? She clutched her cheeks, her mind going to just about every possible place it could at the idea. Sure, she wanted to help, but... Wasn't that a little extreme...!?

Her blush fading, Noire's thoughts went back to the speeches she'd seen Neptune make on TV recently.

"Well, I'll be leaving then," Blanc stood up without a word and turned to go. Before she could, however, Vert stood, a glint in her eyes, and her next words stopped Blanc in her tracks cold.

She looked so tired...

"Does it have to be Neptune, or is Nepgear an option?"

She probably hadn't stopped to play a game in weeks...

"- Hold on a second, you bimbo! Nepgear's not even awake to say no to your fat ass!"

Had she been crying...?

"I can't see why she'd mind. Nepgear and I have a special bond, after all, and it would be for the good of Planeptune..."

Facing your mortality like this... What was Neptune feeling...?

"Special bond my ass, you goddamn pervert! You're no better than your Oracle!"

Was she okay...?

"My my, are you sure you're not just jealous that I suggested it first?"

How could she be...? If Uni had been like that, then...

"Why I oughta...!"

She's been shouldering so much, all by herself...

"L-Ladies, I really don't think this is the time for such quarreling, this is a very serious matter..."

All of her people leaving her, little by little... How can she keep appealing to them like that, knowing every day more of them go despite her best efforts...?

"Histoire, I'll have you know I was being completely serious."

It must hurt... It must hurt so much... Just imagining it made Noire begin to tear up.

"Like hell she's gonna marry off Nepgear to you, you moron!"

She made her decision.

"I'll do it!"

Vert, Blanc, and Histoire all stopped in their tracks - Blanc ready to punch Vert, Vert just about to summon a weapon, and Histoire desperately trying to stop them - and turned to the source of the outburst: Noire. Her eyes were teary and her face was the brightest shade of red, but the determination she wore was genuine.

"If... If it can save them, I'll do it. I'll marry Neptune."


	2. Chapter 2

"If... If it can save them, I'll do it. I'll marry Neptune."

There was silence for a few moments. Histoire, Vert, and Blanc seemed to be taking in Noire's declaration - perhaps they were waiting to see if she was going to take it back?

Vert sighed and slumped back down into her seat, giving off the air that she was very disappointed. After giving her a thoroughly angry look, Blanc did the same.

"And here I thought I was finally going to have my chance," Leanbox's CPU shrugged dismissively, before offering Noire a knowing smile, which only caused the Lastation CPU's blush to deepen. "Well, I'm not one to be a home wrecker, so I'll just wait my turn..."

"Keep waiting!" Blanc's remark was instant, but she had calmed down enough to retract her fist at least. Histoire might have forced a laugh to help difuse the situation, but the fact that one of the three high strung CPUs had agreed to her proposal (she had genuinely feared the worst) took priority.

"Are you sure?" Floating over to Noire and raising herself to eye level, Histoire straightened herself and met Noire's gaze with a hopeful, but at the same time, diplomatic one. "This is a very big decision to make, and all by yourself no less. Are you sure you don't want to contact Lastation's Basilicom and have a conference about this?"

Noire ran a hand through one of her pigtails, as if considering the option, before tossing her hand to the side and shaking her head.

"I don't care what Kei or Uni will think. I'll do it," Noire's gaze was unwavering. Blanc whistled, and Vert, smiling, shrugged - it seemed she had been defeated. "Just tell me what I have to do and how soon it can make the two of them better."

Histoire smiled, her eyes filling with tears. She reached out with both of her small hands and took one of Noire's large ones, the smallest of teardrops dripping down.

"Thank you. Thank you so much."

Blanc and Vert weren't sure if they should stay or go (Vert had half a mind to keep making a play for Nepgear, but after a glance at Blanc, she thought better of it), but ultimately they chose to stay to offer Noire moral support. It wasn't like they had any plans - they'd been so worried they'd canceled pretty much everything, after all.

Histoire immediately broke into an explanation of what was going to happen, and Noire, choosing to look at this like it were another part of her job as a CPU, paid rapt attention to every last word the tiny Oracle spoke.

The first thing to do was to make an announcement - immediately - to the people of Gamindustri that Planeptune and Lastation were going to be uniting and see what the general reaction was. As kind as Noire's gesture was, if the marriage just made the share situation worse, there would be no point to it at all. Hopefully, though, given how good relations were with the nations these days, that wouldn't be a problem.

Once the announcement was made, provided reactions were positive, Noire and Neptune would officially announce their engagement. The wedding would be held in neutral territory, and all of Gamindustri would be invited. This would allow all to come and show their support for the union of nations and CPUs, and in turn raise support for Neptune, Nepgear, and Planeptune.

Upon the successful completion of the marriage ceremony, Planeptune and Lastation would be united. How things would be handled from there would be up to Neptune and Noire to decide, but there were only benefits to be gained from the union - Neptune and Nepgear would not only gain strength and energy from Planeptune shares, but Lastation shares as well, and Noire and Uni would gain the same from Planeptune shares - it was this effect of the union that Histoire explained was the key to saving Neptune and Nepgear.

"... and so, as long as Lastation's shares don't suffer any, Neptune should recover fairly quickly once she has access to its shares," Histoire finished, sighing as she floated down to rest on the table. "On the other hand... Due to the severity of Nepgear's condition, as well as the fact that Candidates aren't as strongly connected to shares, it will still take some time for her to wake up, and then the recovery after that will still take some time..."

Noire nodded in understanding. If she was going to do this - and she had already decided she was - then things had to get started immediately. Not to mention that as soon as Uni found out about this, she'd be worried sick about poor Nepgear, which gave Noire all the more motivation.

At the mention of Nepgear, Vert opened her mouth to speak... but her mouth was promptly covered but Blanc's hand.

"Don't even think about it," muttered the scowling brunette. A twinkle of mischief in Vert's eyes, the Leanbox CPU pulled away and leaned over to Blanc, and then, in her most seductive voice...

"I wonder... Could it be that _you_ want to be my _little_ sister, dear Blanc?" Giving extra emphasis to the "little," Vert's eyes sparkled as she watched Blanc's face turn red with anger, and it didn't take a genius to realize that an argument was about to break out at the table - again.

"Can you two stop it already?" Noire had finally had enough. Putting her hands on her hips, the raven haired CPU gave the two bickering CPUs a stern look. "This is serious business here! It's no time to be joking around."

To Noire's surprise, rather than backing down, the two CPUs exchanged a look, and then... smiled?

Why did she not like that smile? Suddenly feeling nervous, Noire sunk down in her seat, wishing oh so badly that Histoire was talking again - but for her part, the little Oracle had explained just about everything she needed to, and, herself being fairly tired, was taking the moment to take a breath.

"... W-What is it?" Noire hesitantly looked back and forth from Blanc to Vert.

"Oh, nothing..." Vert spoke innocently... A bit too innocently for Noire's liking, frankly. Surely... Surely she wasn't getting at what Noire _thought_ she was getting at...

Sinking a little deeper into her seat, Noire looked to Blanc, hoping she was wrong - she had to be wrong! She was totally wrong, wasn't she?

"It's just that you really don't have any place to talk," Blanc told her flatly.

Blinking rapidly, Noire sat up, her cheeks stained pink - something that didn't go unnoticed by the other two CPUs.

"W-What is that supposed to mean?!" Realizing too little too late that her protesting like this was exactly what the other two wanted from her, Noire crossed her arms and slumped back down in her seat, scowling and trying her best to ignore how hot her face felt.

"I think we'll leave it at that for today. I know your intentions were..." Vert paused, putting a finger to her lip, as if she was in incredibly deep thought. Offering Noire a bright smile, she clapped her hands together. "... _mostly_ noble, so I don't think it would be fair to tease you too much."

"More noble than your intentions, at any rate," Blanc muttered under her breath. Vert simply responded with a "hmph!" and let the comment go, which hopefully meant Noire was off the hook - at least for now.

"A-Anyway, should I go and make the arrangements?" Noire, her face still tinged with pink, stood from her seat. The two CPUs and Oracle present all looked to her, which only caused her blush to deepen. "I-It's not like I- I just want to get Neptune better right away, okay? Seeing her working so hard is... Well, it's not like her."

Blanc bit her lip, biting back a snide remark, and Vert shook her head and let out a sigh.

"If you're this set on it, then the only thing I can do is offer you any assistance I can," Vert stood as well, reaching for and taking one of Noire's hands in one of her own. "You will have the full support of Leanbox in this... venture, of this, I can promise you."

"Lowee too," Blanc - perhaps just not to be outdone by Vert - also stood, and placed her hand on top of Noire's and Vert's. After a moment, the smaller CPU added: "... And you're probably going to need all the support you can get, if you're gonna be married to Neptune of all people."

"You two..." Noire smiled, looking from one CPU to the other, and lowered her head. She felt so grateful. She knew she had no right to, really - it was Neptune who should be feeling things right now. And for Neptune, she would do anything if it would help her. Nodding to the both of them, Noire turned to Histoire. "Do you have a camera? I'll make the announcement immediately as soon as I call and let Kei and Uni know what's going on."

"A-A camera?" Histoire was surprised, but only momentarily. It really seemed like things were going to be okay. After such a long, horrible period, maybe now... Shaking off such thoughts, Histoire have an affirmative nod to Noire. "Yes, there should be one around here... somewhere. Follow me."

As there wasn't a moment to lose, as far as Histoire was concerned, she rose from her resting spot and floated off into the Basilicom faster than any of the CPUs had ever seen her move. Noire moved to go after her, then paused, and turned to her fellow CPUs.

"Thanks. I owe you guys."

"... Hmph. Just make sure you don't screw it up."

"My my... This is supposed to be a heartwarming moment, Blanc, shouldn't you be a little nicer?"

"Can it!"

Fighting the urge to laugh, Noire rolled her eyes and dashed off after Histoire. It was time to shake up the entire country.

* * *

When Neptune woke up, she knew something was off - or rather, something was... on?

Sitting up in her bed - had Histy had someone move her? - she rubbed her eyes sleepily. This really, really wasn't a time to be conking out on the job! She should be out doing quests or promoting the Nepcast or doing something productive, not catching some Zs! Slapping her cheeks a few times, Neptune rolled over in her bed to glance at the clock.

It had only been a few hours. She could probably still get a quest or two in if she hurried to the Guild. For some reason, she was actually feeling a little perky today. Not a lot, definitely not like the old days, but it was enough that Neptune could notice it... Maybe that speech she'd done had dragged in more shares than she'd thought?

"Just you wait, Nep Jr... I'll have you up and at 'em again in no time," Smiling to herself at the thought that maybe, just maybe, she was making progress, Neptune hopped out of bed and flipped the TV on. She didn't plan on watching anything, but it was nice to have some white noise while she changed her clothes - didn't want to go out there all dirty and sweaty, after all!

Humming to herself, Neptune tossed her clothes in the hamper and walked across the room to her dresser. She noticed that Noire was on TV - probably announcing some new software? - so she perked up her ears and listened in, still humming to herself as she sorted through her clothes, deciding what would be best to wear for monster hunting.

If Neptune had glanced at the TV for more than a moment, she might have noticed that behind Noire - who was in her HDD state - were Blanc and Vert, also in their HDD states. If she had glanced at the TV for more than a moment, she might have noticed that the banner running across the bottom of the screen was proclaiming something so absurd that, if it weren't actually happening right this moment, not a soul in Gamindustri would believe such a thing to be possible.

"... in short, this will mean that, henceforth, our countries - Planeptune and Lastation - will be one. It is my hope that, together, our two nations will reach even greater heights than we could ever hope to reach indivually. It is my hope that, together with Purple Heart, our countries, together, will become something absolutely wonderful."

... H-Huh?

"I, Green Heart, CPU of Leanbox, would like to add that I completely support this decision, and hope this best for the future of Planeptune and Lastation."

Huh?

"And I, White Heart, CPU of Lowee, would like to add that I also completely support this decision, and hope the best for the future of Planeptune and Lasation."

Huh!?

"Thank you, everyone, for listening to this announcement! And thank you, Planeptune, for being so kind as to take me in! I look forward to working with you all!"

"HUUUUUUUUUUUH!?"


	3. Chapter 3

Noire couldn't help but smile as she watched the various screens around her. Who could blame her? It had only been a little while since her announcement, and already, there was hype all across Gamindustri. The net was an uproar of excitement and already rumors were blazing about what this could mean for the future of the two nations' hardware, and the media was going crazy, trying to figure out what was going on.

But that didn't matter to Noire - what mattered was that already, reaction was looking positive, and Planeptune and Lastation shares had started to rise, which meant that, if any luck, within a few days she and Neptune would be...

"You're totally picturing Neptune in a wedding dress right now, aren't you?"

Blanc's comment brought Noire crashing down to reality, and with a stark red blush on her face, the Lastation CPU pointed at the Lowee CPU and angrily declared she was doing no such thing, before returning to her seat with a huff.

"Now, now ladies. This was by and large more than we could have possibly hoped for this quickly," Vert, who had been making tea, strode into the room and placed a mug in front of each Noire and Blanc, before seating herself and taking a sip. "There was always the risk that this could have backfired. We should be thankful."

"Yeah, yeah..." Blanc shrugged. Honestly, with all the comments online already wondering what the relationship of the two goddesses had become, things should be fine once they finally did go and make the formal announcement of the upcoming marriage. Truth be told, if this really went as well as it looked like it was going to, Blanc was wondering just what this would mean for the other CPUs and Candidates' futures...

"That does beg the question, though..." Vert pursed her lips, setting her mug down. Histoire had vanished into the Basilicom, probably to find Neptune before she found out about everything happening herself, leaving the three CPUs to themselves. "Just how is Neptune going to take this?"

"... W-What do you mean?" The elated feeling in Noire's stomach suddenly dropped, being replaced with something... heavier. Vert's words struck a chord. It was an obvious thing, really, and yet... Had Noire really not stopped to consider Neptune's feelings this entire time?

"Don't get me wrong. I'm sure, at this point, she'll be extremely thankful since you'll be helping her sister, but she has her pride. We all do," Vert closed her eyes, taking another sip of her tea. "This is probably going to wound her a lot more than it does anyone else... It's basically admitting to the world that she failed as a CPU, you know? Though knowing her, she probably won't let it on."

"Isn't that a little harsh?" To Noire and Vert's surprise, it was Blanc who spoke these words, despite the fact that it was Blanc herself who was usually the one dishing out such harsh words.

Vert's expression didn't falter.

"Am I wrong?"

"That's..."

Noire and Blanc exchanged looks, unsure of how they could respond to that. How would they feel if they were in Neptune's position?

A long silence weighed over the three. Vert, though her words cold, felt rather guilty for them - but truth be told, she was extremely worried. It was one thing to decide that you were going to merge your nation with someone else's, it was one thing to decide to marry someone... but it was an entirely different thing to do all of this without the other person even having a say in the matter - and after they'd done everything they could on their own no less.

"... I'm going to find Neptune. I... I think we should talk."

Watching Noire stand, Vert nodded.

"You two probably have a lot to talk about."

Blanc was quiet, unsure of how she should add anything - if she should add anything at all, really. She was still thinking about what Vert had said. After a moment's pause, she looked up to Noire, who seemed to have been waiting for something from the Lowee CPU.

"... Good luck."

With that, Noire silently - nervously - strode into the Basilicom, leaving Blanc and Vert to themselves. The two sipped their tea in silence, a drastic change from their usual pace, both lost in their thoughts. This had been a day to remember, to say the least.

"... Say, Blanc?"

Blinking a few times, Blanc managed to pull herself out of her thoughts and glance over at the buxom CPU. The expression on Vert's face was a passive one, and for once, Blanc thought better about making any comments. After all the shit she and Vert had been giving Noire, she didn't really think she had much left in her anyway.

"What?"

Vert leaned over the table, pressing her ample chest against it and making it all the more obvious. Her eyes met Blanc's, and the brunette CPU could only state in bewilderment and wonder what the hell was going on in the blonde's head.

"If I was in Neptune's position... Would you marry me?"

Spraying her tea everywhere, Blanc tried desperately not to choke while Vert burst into a fit of laughter.

* * *

As Noire walked through the Basilicom, she played out various scenarios in her mind. Truth be told, she hadn't spoken to Neptune in a long time - at least, not outside of business. It was, for once, not because the Lastation CPU was too busy working, but in fact, the opposite - while Neptune had been trying to do her best to recover from the damage the Nepcast had caused, Lastation's new hardware had taken off swimmingly, there were no security issues to speak of anywhere, and with Uni trying to do her darndest to be the best CPU Candidate in Gamindustri, Noire's workload had actually decreased tenfold.

In other words... While Neptune had been running herself ragged, watching her sister fade away, what had Noire been doing?

She'd been cosplaying and gaming.

For the first time in a long time, Noire felt ashamed of herself.

Why had Neptune been too proud to ask for help...?

Why hadn't Noire noticed anything sooner...?

If only she had, then... Then maybe...

"What's done is done," she told herself. What mattered now is taking care of Neptune and making sure she and Nepgear could recover with no problem. She could apologize once Neptune was better.

The Basilicom was oddly empty, Noire noticed. It was very much unlike hers, which was bustling with various people doing their jobs. In Planeptune's, however, were only a few people here and there, and from the looks of things, rather than working, they were gossipping about the news, because as soon as Noire passed, they immediately hushed up and went back to work.

The news... Just how would Neptune take it?

One scenario Noire pictured was one she had actually envisioned once or twice (try a few dozen) times in the past.

Neptune would have rented out a whole restaurant for just the two of them... But it would be some dumb kid's restaurant that only Neptune could appreciate. There would be silly, childish music playing in the background, and Neptune would be humming along to it, acting innocent...

Then Neptune would stick out her tongue playfully at Noire, and Noire would make some kind of stupid, flustered comment. Neptune would tell her not to be like that, that Noire was cuter when she wasn't yelling. Noire would blush and tell Neptune that it was Neptune's fault Noire yelled so much. Neptune would tell she was sorry, and then she would lean in and...

"A-Aaaah, what am I thinking!?" Shaking her head furiously, Noire stopped to smack her head against the wall a few times. Steam was practically coming out of her ears, for goodness sakes!

There was no way Neptune would take the news like that!

Sighing, Noire decided that it was probably best to stop trying to imagine what Neptune could be thinking right now. She had to face facts - she had no idea what could possibly be going on in Neptune's head, which was why her mind had wandered off into some irrelevant fantasy in the first place.

Would Neptune be thankful? Would she be disgusted with Noire? What if she wanted to refuse? Noire wouldn't know what to do if that happened - but she seriously doubted it would happen in the first place, if only because of poor Nepgear.

Finally arriving at what Noire knew to be Neptune's room from past visits to the Basilicom, she peeked inside - there, sitting on the bed, was Neptune, while Histoire was floating in front of her. From what Noire could tell, Histoire was just finishing up the explanation of what had happened - and what was going to be happening - but Noire was much more concerned with Neptune.

Neptune, who was much too pale for a girl who spent as much time outside as Neptune did. Neptune, who looked like she had lost weight - too much weight. Neptune, who was in need of a haircut and probably a bath as well. Neptune... Neptune... Neptune...!

Neptune's eyes were downcast. She was smiling, to Noire's great shock, but it was a kind of smile that Noire wished she would never have had to see on Neptune's face. It was a broken smile - a forced smile. It was the smile of someone who knew they had completely and utterly lost, despite giving it two hundred percent, but didn't want to let the winner know they were devastated inside.

This... This was just too much...!

"Neptune...?" Histoire had finally finished explaining the situation to Neptune, and was waiting for some kind of response.

"I..." Neptune slowly looked up at Histoire. She eyes were watering, but she was doing everything in her power not to let a single drop spill. Seeing this was breaking Noire's heart - watching that happy go lucky, airheaded girl sit there, broken, defeated like this... She couldn't take it. "I really did it this time, huh...?"

There it was.

Neptune didn't even seem to care that she was getting married off to one of her closest friends. She didn't care even seem to care about... anything that Noire had expected her to be caring about right then. And how could she?

She had lost most of her people. She had lost virtually all of her shares. She had nearly lost her sister. At this point, what was her pride on top of that?

Noire had known Neptune long enough to know exactly what was going on in her little head.

"This is all my fault."

Seeing that was the straw that broke the camel's back.

"Neptune!"

Bursting into the room, Noire made her way over to the purple-haired girl as quickly as her legs could carry her - to the point that when she was close to the bed, much to the surprise of Histoire and Neptune, Noire gave up her attempt at running and leapt.

Tackling Neptune to her bed, Noire was surprised to find that her eyes were filled with tears.

"I'm sorry Neptune! I'm sorry I didn't notice sooner! I'm sorry I didn't do anything before now! I- I-"

Noire's words caught in her throat as she finally caught a glimpse of the girl she had tackled and was now pinning to the bed. Neptune looked like a scared animal more than she looked like a CPU.

She shouldn't be apologizing now. That was only going to make things worse. No, what she should be doing was much more important.

Reaching to run a hand through Neptune's short, spiked hair, Noire smiled tearfully.

"... It's okay, Neptune. You did your best. I'm proud of you. I know Nepgear will be too, once she wakes up."

With Noire's next words, Neptune's defenses shattered completely.

"It's not your fault."

Latching onto Noire, Neptune buried her head into the other girl's chest and finally, after what seemed to her like an eternity of letting it all build up inside of her, let it all out - everything she'd been holding in for months and months. Noire simply held Neptune, rubbing the girl's back and telling her it would be okay now, and in turn, Neptune clung to her and sobbed.

Unbeknownst to the pair of CPUs, Histoire had made her way out of the room, her own eyes filled with tears. Peeking back in at the two, who were locked in a tearful embrace, she couldn't help but look to the ground, filled with shame.


	4. Chapter 4

"Booooy, that was embarassing! I can't believe _you_ of all people had to see that, Noire!"

Noire looked at Neptune skeptically. It had taken a bit, but now that the Planeptune CPU had cried herself out, she seemed to be back to her old self, more or less, which was something that Noire was incredibly thankful for.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Flipping one of her twintails, Noire gave Neptune a stern look. Maybe she shouldn't have offered anything after all! "Are you saying there's someone else you would rather have had come?"

"Weeeell... Now that you mention it, since you're gonna be stealing away my purity one of these days, maybe it was better that it was you?" For added effect, Neptune fluttered her eyelashes and blew Noire a kiss. "No~ire~?"

"W-W-What!?" Noire gaped, pointing at Neptune, ready to tear the girl's head off for teasing her like this. Seeming to have gotten the reaction she was hoping for, Neptune collapsed into laughter, rolling around like... well, like Neptune. Seeing that was enough to deflate Noire's anger exponentially. "That's not- I wouldn't dare-"

"Hahahaha! Oh, relax, Noire! I know why you're doin' this, Histoire explained everything. Take a chill pill, would ya?" Wiping a tear from her eye, Neptune waved it off dismissively, rolling over to hug one of her pillows, kicking her feet up into the air while she did. Now that Noire could no longer see her, Neptune let her smile falter. "Honestly though... I do feel kinda bad that you've gotta marry me to do it... It's like I'm stealing something important from you, you know?"

"R-Right... I'm just doing this to help you..." Noire hadn't heard Neptune's last comment, and quite frankly, even if she had, it probably wouldn't have registered. Neptune laughing at her like this... On the one hand, she was more thankful than she could ever possibly express that Neptune still had the ability to laugh like this, sure...

But on the other hand... Neptune laughing at her like she was laughing off any potential feelings Noire might have had...?

It... It hurt.

... Well, it wasn't like Neptune was really in the position to feel anything about this, was she? From her perspective, Neptune was being forced into a marriage because her life, and her sister's life, quite literally depended on it. It wasn't like she was doing this because she wanted to. It wasn't like she was doing this because she had any sort of feelings for Noire. It wasn't like she had had any choice in this at all, quite frankly.

Why was Noire getting her hopes up like this? She knew better! She knew why she was doing this! And yet...

And yet... It was Neptune. And Neptune made Noire feel... Well, that wasn't important! And now they were getting married- W-Was it wrong for her to be a little...

... Wait a minute. Now that Noire thought about it... They were getting married, weren't they? Noire's face heated up as she began to realize just what kind of situation her rushing to Neptune's aid had gotten her into.

She was alone with Neptune. They were in Neptune's bed. She was going to be marrying Neptune.

She was alone with her future wife in her future wife's bed.

Was steam coming out of her ears? If it wasn't, Noire would be shocked.

"Huh? Whatsamatter, Noire? You're not catchin' something, are ya?"

"N-N-N-No, I'm fine!" Shaking her head, Noire quickly rolled away from Neptune, who had peeked over after realizing Noire had gotten oddly quiet, sitting up and latching onto one of her twintails, running her hands through her hair nervously.

She had to remember that this was just something to keep Neptune (and Nepgear!) alive! It... It wasn't like Neptune _loved_ her or anything like that!

"If you're sure..." Neptune didn't seem convinced, and the fact that Noire was stammering and playing with her hair like that didn't really give her any reason to change her mind. She watched Noire for a few moments, pondering what she should say to the other CPU, but in truth, her mind was still buzzing from everything Histoire had told her, not to mention Noire coming in at just the right moment to comfort her.

Noire was giving up a lot for her. She was taking a huge risk that could, if this backfired, cost her her own nation. She was being forced to attach her successful, blossoming country to the collapsing one of Neptune's that could just as easily drag Noire's down. What they were doing was something that couldn't be undone - Noire was giving up any chance of happiness with someone she really wanted to marry someday. All because Neptune had screwed up.

Ditzy as she was, Neptune wasn't totally stupid.

Neptune owed Noire.

But more than that... Neptune was so, so thankful to her. There weren't words in any existing dictionary that could possibly express just the level of gratitude that Neptune felt towards Noire right now. She had always cared about Noire, even though she teased her to hell and back (that was part of Noire's charm, really!), but... Now, how could she...? She wasn't sure how she could possibly express what she was feeling...

Just what was she feeling, anyway? Neptune had always liked to tease Noire, she had always loved the reactions the other CPU made, Neptune knew that, but something was stirring inside of her that was... different, somehow.

It wasn't a bad feeling, though.

Neptune bit her lip. She really wished she could bounce what was going on in her head off of someone (though it actually felt like it was more in Neptune's chest, or maybe her stomach, than her head). Glancing across the bed, she shrugged. At least there was someone here to talk to, so why not give it a shot?

"Noire...?" "Neptune...?"

Both CPUs had spoken each others' name at the same time. Their faces reddening, they each, in unison, motioned for the other to speak first.

"... You go ahead, Neptune. You've been too quiet," Noire was frowning at Neptune, causing the purple haired CPU to gulp and force out a laugh... which Noire could totally tell was fake. "Is something wrong? ... Well, that's a stupid question."

Noire began making her way over to Neptune, much to Neptune's surprise, continuing to speak as she did.

"Y-You can tell me, okay? I won't laugh or make fun of you- Well, unless you try to do that to me first!" By the time Noire had finished, she was looking Neptune dead on, eye to eye, and their faces were only inches apart. "You've been through a lot - more than I could even imagine. I... I want to help you, okay? I want to be there for you."

One CPU couldn't help but blush at their proximity. The blush only deepened as the other continued to speak.

That is to say, for reasons Neptune herself didn't understand just yet, Noire's closeness to her was making her blush. Quite fiercely, as a matter of fact.

"H-Hahahaha!" Why was her heart beating so fast? Calm down, Neptune, calm down! It's just Noire! Just your silly, friendless friend that you just so happen to be marrying soon! Nothing to get flustered about, nope, nosiree! "W-What're you getting all serious for? I was just- I was just thinking about how I can totally start slacking off again now that you're gonna be the one bringing the bread home, that's all! Hahaha!"

Neptune had been trying to get Noire mad. She had wanted to get her mad so she could get some breathing room and collect her thoughts.

She hadn't realized just how badly Noire had been feeling about her. She hadn't realized just how worried Noire had been getting. She hadn't realized much of anything, really.

So when Noire lowered herself and, for the second time that day, wrapped her arms around Neptune, the poor CPU was - for once in her life - struck with absolutely no idea of what to do.

"... That'll be okay for a little while. You've more than earned a vacation."

No! No no no! It wasn't okay! Noire, you were supposed to get angry! Now Neptune's heart was beating even faster, and there was no way Noire couldn't feel how hot her face was right now!

For a moment, just a moment, a crazy thought struck Neptune. She felt like if Noire wanted to do something really... _naughty_ to her, because, you know, t-they were getting married and all, right? Then Neptune would be okay with it- B-But only because Neptune owed her, that's all- R-Right? It would be like in an anime! In fact, she could come out and make a joke out of it! Yeah, that's what she'd do! Neptune could say that she was offering herself to her new goddess or something cheesy like that - and either Noire would take her up on it, w-which would actually be... or or or or or! Or! Or Noire would get off of her, which would be fine too! That was what Neptune was actually aiming for! Definitely not the other thing, though!

... Why couldn't she open her mouth to make the joke!? What was wrong with her!?

"This... This is all your fault, Noire...!"

"Hah?" Detaching herself from Neptune (much to Neptune's relief - or was it disappointment?), Noire prepared to scowl at the other CPU and give her a piece of her mind. Just what was her fault, exactly? Really!

Catching sight of Neptune's expression, words were lost on Noire and whatever she had planned on saying was gone faster than a wild Pirachu after seeing Plutia transform.

Neptune's cheeks were a brilliant shade of red, and her eyes were watering again. She was looking up at Noire with wide eyes, a confused expression written all over her face. She looked so... defenseless...

Before Noire knew what she was doing, she was brushing her hair behind her ear and leaning down...

Gulping, Neptune closed her eyes, dismissing any thoughts she might have had about jokes or pranks or anything of the sort, and leaned in...

Noire could feel Neptune's breath on her face...

Neptune could practically feel the heat radiating off of Noire she was so close...

"Are you two okay in here? It's been a long time, and Histoire is getting... worried...?"

The two CPUs froze, eyes widening in horror. Slowly, ever so slowly, they turned their heads towards the door, their faces growing increasingly redder.

There, at the door, covering her open mouth, eyes sparkling much too much for either of the CPUs on the bed to like, stood Vert.

Time seemed to stand still. It seemed like hours had passed, with no one moving. Lastation and Planeptune's CPUs minds were racing - just how did this look to Vert?

Noire was on top of Neptune. Their lips had been mere centimeters from touching. They had been alone for who knows how long. They were going to be married.

... There was only one possible explanation that Vert could reach! And the worst part was that it was totally on the ball, too!

"... I'll just go and let her know you two are getting the honeymoon out of the way early then."

"W-WAAAAAIIIIT!"

* * *

Vert couldn't help but smile to herself as she walked through Planeptune's Basilicom. Now that had been quite an eyeful she had walked in on! Imagine if she had been just a few minutes later? Giggling at the thought, the blonde CPU put her hands together and glanced behind her - at her two comrades who were trailing after her, doing their best not to make eye contact with Vert or each other.

"S-So, like I was saying, Noire was just checking to make sure that I didn't have a fever!" Neptune had been denying any possible implications since they'd left the bedroom, forcing laughs and scratching the back of her head all the while - it was all veeeeery convincing. "Boy, am I glad I've got Noire here for stuff like that, hahaha!"

"R-Right... It wasn't like we were going to..." Noire trailed off, peeking back at Neptune, before lowering her gaze to the ground, her cheeks stained crimson.

It was obvious what they had been going to do, that much was clear, but...

Why was it happening?

Neptune didn't... Neptune _couldn't_ feel that way... Right?

It was a fluke. It had to be. Neptune had just been going with the flow, like she always did.

"I know, I know," Vert turned back to the pair of girls, a far too innocent smile on her face. "I won't tell a soul what I saw - you can count on me."

Aaaah, that was it! That was it that was it that was it! Noire couldn't let this go on any longer or she would just explode!

"T-There was nothing to see, and there never will be!" Noire crossed her arms and turned away from Neptune and Vert, a ferocious look on her face. She was unable to see either of the CPUs she was walking with - and quite frankly, she had no desire to look at them right now.

"... Oh dear..." Vert, on the other hand, could see Neptune's expression quite clearly. She only let it show for a moment, for as soon as she got over her shock, she began laughing and asserting agreement with Noire, but Vert had seen it as plain as day.

Neptune was clearly confused about what was going on (whereas Noire was just in denial, in typical Noire fashion), that much had been apparent to Vert from the moment she had caught them. But now?

Neptune was hurt, and perhaps the worst part was that it looked to Vert like she didn't even know why.

The rest of the trek was made in silence. Upon reaching Histoire's office, Vert gave the two following her one last glance, then shook her head and opened the door.

"... Well, here we go," Vert walked in ahead of the two, leaving them to follow in after her. The room was bustling with excitement - Blanc and Histoire were looking at various screens, graphs, and other statistics and postings that had erupted since Noire's earlier announcement.

Spotting Noire and Neptune, Histoire floated over, beaming at the two of them - after all, she had no idea what had transpired on the way here, and as far as she was concerned, for the first time in ages, there was hope for Planeptune.

"Are you two ready? I'll need you to transform and prepare yourselves, then we'll go on the air. Reaction to the announcement has been positive enough that I think it will be best if we go ahead and announce the marriage between you two immediately."

Noire and Neptune exchanged glances. Neptune felt like she couldn't meet Noire's gaze now, so she tried to look away - but Noire reached for her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze, despite the rather flippant expression on her face.

"C-Come on then. It's now or never, right?"

"Huh? ... Oh, yeah! Let's do it!"

Putting her feelings aside... whatever her feelings were, Neptune nodded. She had to do this. For her country. For her people. For her sister. For herself. Everything was going to be okay now.

... So why was she hurting so much?


	5. Chapter 5

Three days had passed since Neptune and Noire had formally announced their engagement to the masses. There was shock at first, understandably, but it was accepted soon enough. The net was ablaze with excitement, and the people were talking of nothing but the upcoming wedding. Planeptune shares were rising, little by little, and Nepgear's fever had finally dropped.

Despite the fact that they were to be married in only two more days, Neptune and Noire hadn't seen hide nor hair of the other since the announcement - she, Blanc, and Vert had all had to return to their own countries to deal with the media, and Noire in particular was facing a lot of attention.

Ironically, Neptune found herself with very little to do. Histoire and Kei were taking care of wedding preparations, and given how interested people were in Planeptune all of a sudden now, taking on quests for little drops of shares felt pointless now - not to mention whenever she left the Basilicom, she seemed to get mobbed by whatever remaining Planeptune citizens there were (not that she was complaining). Noire had even told Neptune to take it easy before she'd left.

This sudden surge of free time had had the unfortunate side-effect of forcing Neptune to think, which was something she hated doing, but for some reason, she just couldn't stop doing it these past few days.

Eating was something Neptune could do easily enough, but that only lasted so long. A simple, mindless task that brought pleasure and fulfillment to her... normally. These few days, however, Neptune's mind could only... wander. What's worse, it didn't last nearly long enough, and soon enough, Neptune's food was gone and she knew she'd get sick if she kept stuffing herself until the wedding.

There was the obvious answer of gaming, but...

Every time she sat down to play a game, Neptune would linger on the player select screen. One player or two player? Would her second player always be Noire from now on? ... Or would...

Or would Neptune be the one who was player two...?!

"Kyaaaah! What am I thinking?!" Bopping herself on the head, Neptune switched off the game and fell back onto the couch.

What _was_ she thinking...? Seriously... No matter what she tried to do, these past few days, all trains of thought seemed to lead back to Noire. She'd never thought about her friend like this before, but ever since that day... To be more precise, ever since Noire held her like that- Or was it when Histoire told her about the marriage plans?

Either way, ever since then...

If she ate, she'd wonder what Noire would be eating...

If she tried to work, she'd wonder what Noire was working on...

If she tried to game, she'd wonder if Noire would play with her...

If she tried to watch anime, she'd wonder how Noire would look in the outfits of the characters...

Was it because Noire had given everything up for her that Neptune had started thinking this way? Was it that grand, powerful gesture that had reached her? Was it because Noire had held her when Neptune had needed it more than in her entire life...? Or had Neptune always, deep down, felt inklings of this - was that why she always teased her so much?

Argh! Why was Neptune thinking like this? She had never thought about stuff like this before, and how was she supposed to be married to Noire if she kept thinking about her? That'd just be weird!

"It's not fair that she gets to go run off back to Lastation, leaving me here to think about all this stuff!" Pouting, Neptune crossed her arms. This was definitely, absolutely, one hundred percent all Noire's fault that she was feeling like this, and that was the only possible explanation for things.

"It's not fair that _who_ gets to go run off back to Lastation?"

"- Noire!?"

Sighing at the sight of the purple haired CPU jumping nearly a foot off the couch, Noire seated herself next to Neptune and crossed her arms, giving the other girl a questioning look.

"Well? Were you complaining about me behind my back?"

"W-W-What are you doing here...!?" Pointing at Noire dramatically, Neptune pushed herself as far away from Noire as possible. It was only a foot or so, but every bit of distance she could get would do wonders for her pounding heart right about now.

"Uni's been begging to come see Nepgear since I told her what was going on, but we've been too busy making arrangements until today," Noire explained, making sure to leave out the fact that Uni was fully capable of making the trip to Planeptune by herself. It wasn't like she had wanted to see Neptune or anything, though, she just... had some free time too was all. "So? What was that that you were saying about me?"

"N-Nothing..." Neptune's heart wasn't going to be able to take much more of this. She needed this all to be sorted out, and soon. Maybe a distraction was in order? She definitely didn't want Noire probing into her thoughts. "Say! Since you're here, wanna play a game with me?"

"A game?" Noire tilted her head. As obvious as it was that Neptune was trying to change the subject... It wasn't like she had had anything better to do, but she had been sort of hoping she and Neptune could talk... Wait, no, she hadn't been hoping anything like that! "... Fine, I guess I can give you some time. But I won't hold back on you!"

"Hah, I wouldn't have it any other way!" Now that was more like it! Hopping off the couch, with Noire in tow, Neptune reached for the controllers - but then, she stopped, realizing that she was about to get an answer to the question that had been plaguing her mind every time she had tried to play a game since Noire had left three days prior.

This was it... Was Neptune the player one in the relationship... Or the player two?

Her heart pounding, Neptune stopped in her tracks and watched Noire reach for the controllers. Everything seemed to move in slow motion, as if this one moment would decide Neptune's fate for the rest of her life.

"Okay, then I'll be player two," Noire, having no idea just what speaking these words would unleash, reached for the second controller. It was common sense for the guest to be player two, right? She hadn't put any particular thought into her comment - she just wanted to play the game. Neptune, on the other hand...

"P... Player twooooooooo...!?" Clutching her cheeks like a cartoon character, Neptune gaped at Noire comically. If there was one thing that felt right in the world, it was teasing Noire. "Oh, Noire, my heart isn't ready for me to be player one yet! It's too soon! Much too soon!"

"W-What are you going on about?!" Noire crossed her arms once more, still holding the controller, demanding an explanation from Neptune. "This is how things normally go, right?"

"But... But..." Neptune began poking her fingers together, then, if only to get the heat off of herself, looked at Noire teasingly. "Oh, I get it... I didn't know you were the player two type, Noire."

"Player two type...?" Noire repeated slowly, unsure of Neptune's meaning. Seeing that it was clear that the game was off, Noire placed the controller back down where she had gotten it from. Sometimes she just didn't understand Neptune. "Just what are you talking about?"

"Well... You know..." Still poking her fingers together, Neptune fluttered her eyes at Noire. Strange feelings aside, Noire had still always been a fun one to tease, to the point that it had become one of Neptune's favorite pastimes - why pass up such a grand opportunity like this? And doing it just felt so... _right_, now moreso than ever. She just couldn't help herself! "In relationships, one person is the player one, and the other person is the player two. You know what I mean?"

Noire had to repeat that to herself a few times before she could fully comprehend where Neptune had been going with it.

Noire's eye twitched.

Neptune smiled brightly.

That's the stuff!

"I'll show you just how much of a player one I can be, you... you...!" Unable to believe that she'd fallen for that, much to the surprise of Neptune, Noire wasted no time in tackling Neptune to the ground. Her fingers wiggling maliciously, Noire struck - going straight for Neptune's weak spots. Neptune tried to resist, she really did, but she just didn't have it in her to last for long.

"H-Hahaha, no, s-stop, Noire! I give, I give!"

"Say it!"

"S-Say- Hahahaha- S-Say what?"

"What am I?"

"P-Player one! Noire is player one!"

"Hmph! And don't you forget it."

Retracting her fingers, Noire nodded to herself. That would show Neptune not to make sleazy innuendos like that. She sat up, now straddling Neptune, but rather than feel embarassed, she felt... silly. Did she really just let Neptune get to her like that? She was supposed to be more level headed than to just give in to any provocation...

... In her defense though, this had been a bit more than just _any_ provocation! After all, Neptune had been implying...

Now Noire felt embarassed. It was one thing to tease Noire and Noire alone, but the implications that Neptune had been making were about both of them - even if they had been in jest. And the fact that Neptune was thinking in that direction, then... Maybe...?

Noire licked her lips nervously, thinking back to the events on Neptune's bed. If Vert hadn't come in... Where would they be right now...?

Neptune, meanwhile, couldn't help but stare up at Noire. Her long black hair. Her face, just a bit too pale from staying inside and working too much. Her eyes, her lips, her nose, her lips, her hair... Her lips...

Neptune's eyes widened and her mouth opened into an "o" as things began to click into place. What she'd been feeling, why she kept thinking about Noire- Why she kept being drawn to a certain part of Noire's body-

Nah, that couldn't be right, could it?

Neptune looked away. What was she thinking? All jokes aside, Noire had made it pretty clear how _she_ felt, and Neptune was still way too confused about this to know for sure how she felt herself. Maybe she was just really grateful to Noire for what she was doing, and she was confusing it for something else... something more. In fact, the more Neptune thought about it, the more she decided that that had to be it... probably. But no matter what, that wouldn't change the cold, hard facts: this marriage was just a thing she was doing as a friend to save her life - at the cost of, essentially, her own.

Any positive feelings she'd been feeling thanks to Noire's arrival quickly began to go down the drain, being quickly replaced by the increasingly familiar sensation of guilt.

Who was she kidding?

Even if she was absolutely positive about how she felt, Neptune didn't have the right to ask for more from Noire. She never would.

The change in Neptune's mood didn't go unnoticed by Noire. Though only moments prior the purple haired CPU had been catching her breath, trying to recover from Noire's fierce tickle assault (a secret technique that not even Uni had knowledge of), now she seemed oddly distant - like she had back in that bed, when she had looked so lost and alone.

Noire's heart dropped into her stomach watching that. No matter how Neptune acted, she was still hurting, wasn't she? How could Noire even think about Neptune like that when it was clear that Neptune was still in pain over all of the losses that she'd been facing?

Little did Noire know that Neptune's change in mood was because she was having the exact same kinds of thoughts that Noire was.

* * *

Uni had been doing a lot of thinking these past few days - and some crying on top of that as well, not that she would ever admit it to anyone.

The Lastation CPU Candidate had been incredibly busy this past year. She had released her own piece of hardware nearly a year ago, and she'd been in deep competition with Rom and Ram's own piece of technology - and, not that Uni would ever admit it, it was doing surprisingly well despite how young its creators were. They probably were getting help from their Oracle and their sister, no doubt, but still... They were doing good, and while Uni's numbers weren't anything to scoff at, they weren't enough for her.

Even Noire wasn't working as hard as Uni was at this point. Maybe it was because Noire was enjoying success on her side of the market, whereas Uni was neck in neck with the twins, or maybe Uni still felt the need to prove herself, but whatever the cause...

Uni had been so caught up in trying to succeed, she'd stopped keeping track of her friends. She honestly hadn't noticed what had been going on in Planeptune, at least not beyond knowing that the Nepcast had failed. She had talked to Rom and Ram on the phone as soon as Noire had told her what was going on in Planeptune, and to Uni's great surprise... the twins had been worried sick about Nepgear - even little Ram, who was always so quick to be standoffish towards the purple haired Candidate.

Uni had been the only one who hadn't been paying attention. She'd been working so hard, and yet she'd been oblivious to the most important thing...!

She ran a hand through Nepgear's hair. There was no reaction from the pale girl. Her breathing continued, heavy, yet steady, but there was no change in her. No reaction. Uni had tried talking to her, yelling at her, Uni had tried everything she could think of- But nothing could get a reaction out of the girl. It was as if she wasn't even there. It was as if she was...

Uni clenched her fist, clutching Nepgear's hair in her shaking hand, tears spilling from her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Nepgear...! I'm so, so sorry!"


	6. Chapter 6

Seeing as it looked like playing a game together was off (Noire really didn't want to get into another innuendo filled argument with Neptune), Noire wasn't sure what she could do to break the strange tension that had fallen over the two CPUs. Neptune had finally managed to start playing a game on her own (apparently now that she had the answer to her "who was player one?" question, she could play to her heart's content), leaving Noire to watch the other CPU in mild disinterest, occasionally offering commentary or advice.

"Watch out, you're about to get hit by-"

"I know Noire!" A beat. "Wait, aaaaaaah! I didn't see the blue shell coming!"

"That's what I was trying to tell you..."

"Ehhh!? Then you should have been more specific!"

"I would have been if you hadn't interrupted me!"

"I would _never_ interrupt you, Noire!"

After brief exchanges like that, the pair would fall silent again - the only sounds filling up the room were the sounds of the game Neptune was playing.

It wasn't that Noire was _bored_ exactly... She wasn't sure what she was. Part of her was happy that Neptune was able to sit here and relax and play a game like this - she knew full well that this was something Neptune probably hadn't been able to do in ages now. Part of her was jealous - stupidly jealous of the CPU opponents Neptune was racing, and she was wishing she was the one making Neptune cry out in frustration over blue shells and getting knocked off the track.

But mostly, Noire was just confused. She felt like, lately, Neptune had been giving her some mixed messages - that player one/player two thing in particular, along with that near-kiss the other day... She knew, dangerous as it was, she was starting to get her hopes up - but at the same time, she could tell just how much Neptune was in pain over her issues with her country, with her sister. She knew Neptune had no time to think about simple things like love and the like.

She knew there was no way... Yet she couldn't stop herself from dreaming a little bit. She just couldn't. She wasn't that cold a person. A girlish blush staining her cheeks, Noire began to picture what married life would be like.

She would watch anime with Neptune, and Neptune would sit in her lap. She would play games with Neptune, and Neptune would (sometimes) pretend to lose just to make Noire happy. She would drag Neptune into cosplay with her, and they would always cosplay as a pair of characters that were a couple. She would sing karaoke with Neptune, and (begrudgingly!) she would get to sing all the cheesy love songs she'd been wanting to sing her.

Noire shot Neptune a glance - the other CPU was still completely enthralled with her game. Good. Noire let out a wistful sigh. That sure would be the life...

A crash came from the speakers, drawing Noire out of her fantasy. Neptune had gotten smashed by another blue shell, and the other racers were blasting past her.

"Awww, nuts!" Crying out in frustration, the purple haired girl dropped her controller - as anyone who had been a victim of the deadly blue shell could tell you, once you were hit by one more than once, recovery was almost impossible. "I'm so gonna have some words with Blanc over making such a cheap gimmick in her games! I can't believe I imported this from Lowee!"

Noire laughed, flipping a hand through her hair.

"Come on, you're just being a sore loser. Besides, it's not like Blanc designs every game that they make for her consoles," Noire commented, scooting herself just a bit closer to Neptune. She wasn't sure if she should mock the other CPU or give her a pat on the back - maybe do both? - but before she could do either, she suddenly found the controller being thrust towards her.

"Okay, if _I'm_ being such a sore loser, then you do better, Miss 'I Know Everything About Video Games'!" Neptune was looking at Noire with flames in her eyes - the sheer tenacity in her expression almost reminded Noire of the days when the four nations had been constantly at each others' throats. Typical Neptune to get so worked up over a game.

"Hmph! Let's make it interesting then-" Noire snatched the controller out of Neptune's hands before giving Neptune an even stare. "If I can pull off a race in first place, you have to treat me to the best spots Planeptune has to offer for the rest of the day."

Neptune raised an eyebrow. So they were placing bets on this now, huh? Well, two could play this game!

"Fine with me, Lonely Heart!" Neptune attempted to imitate Noire's signature "flipping one of her twintails" motion, but as her hair was so short, the gesture just looked rather silly. "But if you screw it up and even get just _second_ place, then _you've_ got to treat _me_ to wherever I want to go today!"

Noire smirked.

"Deal."

* * *

"I can't believe I let you trick me into doing this..." Noire moaned as she let Neptune pull her along the streets of Planeptune, the other girl skipping along merrily and pointing out various buildings and such that she had put "Nep" into the title of. "Well you know what? I'm going to give Blanc a piece of my mind next time I see her. That game has to be rigged!"

"Now who's the sore loser?" Neptune teased, glancing back at Noire with wide eyes. Noire snatched her hand out of Neptune's grasp and looked away, blushing lightly, which just brought a wide smile to Neptune's face. "Hey, I totally warned you! You've got no one to blame but yourself!"

"That's..." Noire trailed off. That wasn't fair! She hadn't expected... Or maybe she had been okay with losing or winning...? Neptune had looked really happy that Noire had lost their little gamble, so in a way, that was kind of a victory, wasn't it?

... Heck no it wasn't! Noire still had her pride, after all!

"Are there any arcades around?" Noire asked suddenly, an idea striking her. She knew that Neptune was supposed to be leading her around right now, but maybe she could talk Neptune into going somewhere where Noire could get some payback.

Neptune couldn't help but laugh at Noire's question - not because she'd picked up on the other CPU's plan, but rather-

"Are you kidding? I think you should ask '_Aren't_ there arcades?' around, Noire!" Apparently feeling like she had won something, for clearly if Noire had to ask it meant that Lastation was lacking in the arcade department, Neptune puffed her chest out ever so slightly. "What's on your mind? Want to see if my games are as rigged as Blanc's?"

Noire laughed inwardly. This was going to be too easy.

"Even if they were, I bet I could still take you down in any one of them," she remarked casually, running a hand through her hair - not even looking at Neptune, as if this statement were the most obvious thing in the world. Now, all she had to do was wait for it, and then...

"Sister, if you're going to talk like that, then I'm just gonna have to take you up on it!" Neptune's eyes were filled with determination - determination to stop Noire into the ground, but it was good to see determination there all the same - as she snatched Noire's hand and began dashing off towards the closest arcade.

As the pair made their way through the streets, a blush began to rise to Noire's cheeks - normally she wouldn't think anything of this, but...

But people were watching!

"Look, it's Lady Purple Heart and Lady Black Heart!"

"Do you think they're making some preparations for the wedding?"

"Honey, take a picture, take a picture! I want to post it online!"

"They must be on a date! Look, they're practicing for the marriage, isn't that cute?"

"Oh, don't be silly, they've probably been on plenty of dates before this..."

Noire couldn't stand the embarrassment! Was Neptune just immune to it, or was she enjoying the attention? Noire supposed it could be either, knowing Neptune, but... But talking about this like it was a date...? As if that would ever happen!

"H-Hey, how much farther is it?" Noire's voice was quieter than she had intended it to be, and for a moment, she was sure Neptune hadn't heard her. She glanced up and, realizing they had just passed an arcade, tried again. "Um, Neptune, I think we just missed our stop...!"

The reason Neptune wasn't responding was rather simple. The more people spoke, the more her mind drifted back to the mindset it had been earlier - that is to say, the inside of her head at the moment, despite her best efforts to think about something else, kept returning to Noiresville, Population: Neptune and Noire.

Dates? With Noire? What kind of crazy talk was that? She'd never been on anything like that before!

But... Since they were getting married, was that was this was now...!? Neptune hadn't intended for it to be something like that - she'd just wanted to paint the town red with her buddy, that was all! Now that she put a little thought into it though... It could totally look like a date! Aaah, and considering all the things she'd wanted to do with Noire... Should she not do them now? Should she do them anyway and prove the people wrong?

Did she even want them proven wrong in the first place!? Aaaaah, why was this so hard!?

It wasn't like two friends going to the arcade could be taken as something like that, right? That was perfectly innocent, wasn't it...? Nodding to herself, Neptune decided it had to be. She could think on her original plans later, for now, they were just two friends going to the arcade. Nothing weird about that.

Now if only her heart would get the message! It was beating and pounding and probably was the source of her starting to sweat too! Why did that stupid organ never listen to her at times like this? Was it planning a coup?!

"NEPTUNE!" Before Neptune could figure out what dastardly plot her heart was planning, she found herself being yanked mid-stride, and a moment later she realized that she was way way way too close to Noire. The other CPU had obviously been trying to get her attention for something, and since Neptune hadn't been listening... Ohhh boy.

"Y-Yes?" Trying her best to look innocent - look like Compa, Neptune! do your Compa impression! - Neptune looked up at Noire for an explanation, taking a step back nervously.

"We just passed our _third_ arcade," Noire sighed in exasperation, though she couldn't help but be inwardly amused at how obviously flustered the other girl was - whatever she was thinking about, it didn't seem to be serious, so for the time being Noire let herself enjoy the airhead she was with being just that. It was... one of the things she liked about Neptune, after all... "Is something going on?"

"I was... Um..." Neptune had to think fast, or she'd look totally lame right now. Her mind trailing back to Noiresville, and the things that the townspeople had been saying. a lightbulb went off in her head. "I was, uh, actually thinking that a movie would be more fun, so I was taking you to the theater! There's a movie I wanted to see that's going to start soon... So, um... Surprise!"

Noire blushed immediately at Neptune's "revelation," the implications not at all going over her head, completely falling for it, while Neptune instantly began to inwardly berate herself.

What was she thinking!? Now this was totally a date! Stupid stupid stupid!

She couldn't take it back now, though... Shoot. She'd really wanted to give Noire a good schooling at an arcade, too!

"So, uh, shall we?" Neptune offered. She secretly hoped Noire would turn her down, but at the same time... She kind of didn't. The thought of being alone, just her and Noire, in a dark movie theater, watching who even knew what, it... It excited her.

"Y-Yes, let's," Noire couldn't seem to lift her gaze from the ground, but she managed a small nod, which was enough to send Neptune's heart crashing and then lift it considerably. She really had no idea what she was feeling these days.

The two made their way to the movie theater in silence after that. Neither attempted to grab the other's hand again, and before they knew it, they had arrived... only for Neptune to discover she had made a terrible, terrible mistake.

They exchanged a look and laughed awkwardly, before looking away, their cheeks darkening.

It would figure the only movie playing right at this moment - the moment Neptune had declared was the moment that the movie she wanted to see was playing - was a romance.


	7. Chapter 7

"Sister, Vert my treasured sister, would you like to go today? You don't have much work, and I bet it would do you _wonders_ to get your mind off of the Planeptune situation!"

Chika Hakozaki, the Oracle of Leanbox, had been dying to take her beloved sister (who wasn't actually remotely related to the CPU of Leanbox that she called "sister," but those types of positively irrelevant details weren't important) to a certain movie for ages now. She had begged, pleaded, played dead, and tried just about every trick in the book in order to get her beloved to take her out on a date.

Unfortunately, Vert was well versed in Chika's book of tricks, and paid no mind to the green haired woman. It wasn't that she didn't care about Chika, it was more that she _did_ and knew that if she threw Chika even a little bone, the Oracle would take that as a sign that Vert was getting ready to propose... which, needless to say, Vert wasn't exactly interested in right now. She _was_, however, extremely interested in the movie that Chika had been continuously trying to get her to see.

"My my, how I'd love to take little Nepgear to this... I hope it will still be playing when she wakes up. It could be just the two of us, I could take her to the biggest theater in Leanbox and we could wear those matching dresses I bought for us, and..."

Chika's eye twitched, toning out Vert's fantasies. For the past few days now, it seemed like every other word out of her beloved sister's mouth was "Nepgear" - and it was starting to drive her crazy! Not that her beloved sister didn't already drive her crazy, of course, but this was different.

Letting out a dramatic sigh, Chika collapsed into a nearby chair as Vert ignored her Oracle and looked over the article detailing the movie.

It had to be some sort of cosmic irony that her sister was oh so fond of the little sister of another, when she could just as easily spend time with her real little sister, who adored her more than anything in the entire world, instead!

The true irony of this, sadly, was completely lost on Chika.

* * *

As Neptune and Noire stood in line to get their snacks, Noire couldn't help but notice the type of crowd that this movie had drawn in.

They were all couples.

"Noire!"

Gulping nervously, Noire began to wonder if that was how she and Neptune appeared to the people around them. Was that what it looked like? O-Of course, it couldn't possibly be something like that- There was no way anyone could mistake what the two of them actually were for something like that!

"Hey, Noire!"

Sure, there was the fact that they'd just announced to the entire world that they were getting married, but that totally didn't mean anything... Much as Noire would like it to, Neptune just _didn't_ feel that way about her. So did it matter what it looked like to other people? That just made them wrong, right? It wasn't like Neptune would ever consider this a date or-

"Noire, seriously!"

"Eep!" Noire's face flushed as Neptune grabbed onto her hand. Was Neptune more forward than Noire realized? Was this the moment that Noire had been waiting all of these years for? Was she really ready for this? Was-

"Finally!" Sighing, Neptune withdrew her hand and motioned to the counter, where a smiling cashier (it wasn't every day you got to serve two CPUs!) was waiting for their order. So that was it. Noire couldn't help but deflate in disappointment. Of course it had been something like that. "It's our turn. What do you want? My treat."

Blushing scarlet, Noire lowered her gaze, ashamed she was letting herself get so worked up over something as simple as a movie.

"P-Popcorn..." she managed to mumble after a few moments. Realizing she hadn't been heard, Noire raised her head and, giving the poor cashier an overly determined look, flipped a twintail and repeated herself in her clearest, most straight-to-the-point "I am going to slay you where you stand" voice possible. "Popcorn! I want popcorn! Immediately!"

The cashier, who had been thrilled to serve a CPU moments ago, nearly wet herself at the fierce look Noire was giving her. People in line backed away from the yelling CPU and Neptune jumped in-between the pair, hoping to save face, and held up two fingers nervously.

"Okay, one extra large popcorn and two waters!" Neptune, hoping Noire would get the "chill, girl!" message, offered more than enough credits to cover their snack and hastily shoved Noire out of the way, much to the Lastation CPU's embarrassment, before returning to the counter.

Noire could only let herself be pushed away as Neptune took care of things at the stand, taking the hint and walking off to the side to get out of the other girl's way.

"This is all Neptune's fault, this is all Neptune's fault..." Noire kept telling herself, watching as Neptune and the cashier exchanged some words from a little ways away. She knew full well it was her fault, really, for getting overly worked up - maybe overly hopeful was the better word? - over this, but she just couldn't help it. She'd never been alone with Neptune like this, and now...

It was either a dream come true or a waking nightmare.

Curious as to what Neptune and the cashier might be talking about to such length, Noire began walking towards the snack stand, only to immediately regret it when she overheard what Neptune was saying.

"-first date, y'know? She's suuuuper nervous, so that's why she was like that, but like I kept telling her, 'We gotta get some practice in before the big day!', hahaha!"

Neptune was blushing brilliantly as she told her story to the cashier - but what else was she supposed to do? She had barely enough shares to keep herself from collapsing as it was, she didn't need her fiancé losing her what few followers she had left!

Plus... It kind of made her feel nice, saying they were on a date. It was a lie, but it was a lie that made her feel kind of giddy. She almost had half a mind to pretend to herself that it really _was_ a date, just to see what it was like. Even if it would be fake, maybe...

"N-Neptune..."

Neptune gulped. She knew that voice anywhere.

"W-Weeeell, there's the missus! I'll be seeing you!" Giving the cashier a wink, who had made a full recovery after her talk with Neptune, Neptune let Noire lead her aside.

"What were you _thinking_!?" Noire cried out, doing her best to keep her voice low. Seeing Neptune wince, Noire almost - almost - let the subject drop. But there was no way Neptune had a good explanation for telling a story like that! Not to mention that if Neptune really felt that way, then that... that was an entirely different can of worms! "Do you normally go around saying things like that about other people when they aren't around? Do you?"

To Noire's surprise, Neptune's expression wasn't her usual teasing one - she actually looked a little upset.

"I don't know about you, Noire, but I can't really go around upsetting the people that still, for some crazy reason, think I'm worth praying to. I don't exactly have any to spare, in case you've forgotten. You know?"

"... Ah..." That... had actually been an extremely good explanation. As the reality of Neptune's situation came rushing back to Noire in full force, the black haired CPU hung her head, genuinely ashamed of herself. She'd been so caught up in her girlish fantasies and her feelings that she'd forgotten for a minute that the days where Neptune could run around and do and say whatever she wanted without question were long gone. "I'm sorry."

Neptune gave Noire a scrutinizing look from behind the mountain of popcorn she was holding. She'd probably come off sounding harsher than she'd meant to, but... She couldn't help it. That was the reality she'd been facing for so long now - even if she had wanted to take some time off from it all and spend the day with Noire, she just couldn't break herself from that mindset so easily. The fact that she was out trying to have fun and Nepgear was still out of it...

Honestly, part of Neptune wanted to drop the popcorn and run to the Guild and accept all the quests that they had right then and there, but she knew full well Noire would just get mad at her if she did that. But even so, the guilt was gnawing at her in the back of her mind. Would she really be able to enjoy this properly, knowing that she could be out making even a minimal difference?

And yet, at the same time, part of Neptune... really wanted to spend time with Noire for some reason. It was a strange thing, but Neptune wasn't exactly disliking it.

Noire, who could afford to take the day off, because she worked so hard all the time. Neptune had to admit, as much as she teased Noire for it, it was admirable - she could see that now. Once she got that power boost from Lastation and Noire after the wedding, maybe she could really make a difference in the Planeptune side of things... If only she hadn't slacked off so much, if only she'd been more like Noire, maybe this would never have happened.

For a brief moment, Neptune felt a pang of envy towards Noire... but at the same time, she knew that if she hadn't been so lazy for all those years, she wouldn't be in this mess in the first place. At the end of the day, she had no one to blame but herself.

"Neptune...?" And there was Noire, who was risking everything to help save Neptune from her own screwup, without so much as a second thought towards herself. There was Noire, who hadn't really meant any harm by what she'd done, she was just so easy to fluster! It was a charm point, really.

... She was too good for Neptune.

Uh oh... There was that feeling that had been confusing Neptune again, hot and floaty and blissful and a lot of other things Neptune didn't quite understand yet, swelling up in Neptune's chest. Best ignore it before Neptune got dragged back to Noiresville again and they missed the movie.

"Tell you what," Neptune held out the popcorn expectantly, waiting for Noire to take it. As soon as she did, Neptune held up a finger, a smile creeping onto her lips. Noire still had to listen to her after screwing the game up earlier, didn't she? "You hold onto this through the whoooole movie, and we'll call it even. Sound good to you, Angry Heart?"

"D-Don't call me that!" Noire grabbed the popcorn without thinking twice and, after adjusting it in her arms so she could carry it and still be comfortable, gave Neptune a concerned look. "Really, though. Are you sure that's all I need to do? I didn't mean to upset you or anything..."

Neptune shook her head, dismissing Noire's worries with a wave of her hand.

"The day is young, my sweet!" Fluttering her eyelashes, Neptune began heading towards the theater that their movie was playing in, not noticing the freshly renewed flush on Noire's cheeks as the other CPU trailed after her. "By the time I'm done with you tonight, you'll regret the day you were born! Bwahahaha!"

As Noire followed Neptune into the darkened theater, a small smile crept onto her lips.

Regret the day she was born after getting Neptune to herself for a whole day?

She seriously doubted that.


	8. Chapter 8

The movie had started off as nothing special. A typical fantasy setting, with two warring kindgoms and some princesses and so on and so forth. Noire was appropriately touched and distraught at the right times, but ultimately, she kept shooting glances at Neptune, her mind returning to the "excuse" she'd given the cashier earlier. Neptune, meanwhile, was doing her best to pay attention, but romance stories just weren't her thing! The lack of explosions in the introductory scenes made it a total bore, and if not for the fact that 5pb. had a cameo in the movie, she might've fallen asleep ten minutes in.

The real show, the two CPUs found, was the eating part of it. As punishment for her actions earlier, Noire was to keep hold of the popcorn throughout the whole movie - not a big deal, right? As it turns out that eating popcorn becomes a very big deal when you leave the popcorn in the lap of one person and are splitting it between two.

At first it had been innocent enough. Neptune and Noire were being extremely careful not to have their hands in the bag at the same time, and for a while, it worked. The fact that Noire could sort of feel Neptune's hand in her lap every time she reached for some popcorn, well... She could live with it. The blushing, the pounding heart every time she felt Neptune's hand shuffling through the popcorn? That was getting to be a bit of a problem, but she wasn't... entirely against the idea...

Time passed, and the movie's plot started playing out in earnest. It was a tale of two princesses - but their love wasn't to be. An evil dragon had destroyed the kingdom of the younger princess, and though the two princesses were meeting in secret, if anyone were to find out that the older princess was meeting in such a way with the younger princess, heir of the kingdom that they had been at war with, there would be a public outcry from the shame of it all. But luckily, 5pb. was the younger princess' fairy godmother, and she was doing her best to bring the two princesses together.

Neptune had to admit, for what she had pegged would be pretty lame, this was actually kinda interesting. Maybe she could let herself, just this once, get into it-

Then the first brush of hands in the popcorn occurred.

"S-Sorry..."

"Don't be, it's not a big deal."

Noire would have liked Neptune to have said something else, but the feeling of their hands brushing against each other, in this dark theater, under the pretense or lie or whatever it was of this being a date, was positively electrifying. She was so thankful for the lights being off, because Noire knew that she was blushing scarlet.

The movie continued on without incident, and Noire began to really get into it. The two princesses had continued meeting in secret with the help of 5pb., but the mafia had found out about it and was using this information to blackmail them. Noire began to chew a fingernail, wondering just how the two lovestruck princesses would get out of this problem, and reached for some popcorn with her free hand, when...

"Ah...!"

"My bad, my bad!"

"Ssssshhhh!"

It happened again! Noire shot a glance at Neptune, secretly hoping that Neptune was feeling the same electric shock from their hands bumping as she was, hoping that Neptune would be looking at her as well, but to her dismay, Neptune had already taken her hand away to stuff her face with popcorn.

Little did Noire know that Neptune had done that precisely because she didn't want Noire to see that she _had_ been feeling it.

Things settled down for a while, and the duo continued to enjoy the movie in silence. When 5pb.'s character got shot by the demon lord-slash-godfather and the entire theater erupted in angry yells, things heated up. Neptune had, innocently, reached for the popcorn - but she had been thoroughly excited at this surprising turn of events, and had just shot her hand out to grab the first thing she could get her hands on.

As it happened, what she wound up grabbing was much softer and rounder than popcorn typically was. It was much more sensitive too, and when Neptune realized that her companion gave out a cry - and that popcorn shouldn't be crying like that - Neptune turned, sensing her incoming doom. In that moment, it was as if there were no other people in the world except for Noire and Neptune - Noire's face slowly, but surely, getting redder and redder, while Neptune, giving the occasional squeeze as if to make sure this was real, grew paler and paler.

Now, as a certain nurse could tell you (in far too much detail that one might deem appropriate), Neptune was no stranger to breasts. The fact of the matter was, she quite liked them. Some (namely the aforementioned nurse) might say just a little too much, in fact. A particular group theorizes that Nepgear's fondness for those magical round parts stems from her sister.

In any case, suffice to say, Neptune's hand lingered longer than it should have.

The pair was silent for a few moments, the movie completely forgotten.

"... Fancy meeting you here?"

* * *

_"HUSH!" _

_"Get a room!"_

_"Do it somewhere else!"_

_"There are CHILDREN in this theater!"_

_"Sorry, sorry! I, ah, slipped! That's all! Please just go back to the movie and forget this ever happened, o wonderful people of Planeptune! Ahahaha..."_

_"Wait, is that... Lady Purple Heart?"_

_"It's Lady Purple Heart and Lady Black Heart!"_

_"You mean that just now was THEM?"_

_"Wow, and I thought the wedding thing was just a practical joke..."_

_"I guess it's real after all, heh heh heh..."_

_"N-Neptune! Why are they looking at us like that!?"_

_"Noire, just trust me - right now we need to roll with it!"_

_"Excuse me... Ladies?"_

_"Wha- ... Aww Neppers..."_

After the two CPUs had been thrown out of the theater, they walked down the street in silence. They didn't have any particular aim, they just wanted to kill time until one of them spoke up.

Neptune had initially been too busy apologizing for Noire's screaming to the moviegoers to think too much on what she'd done to Noire - a CPU causing a riot in a theater? That'd ruin her! Thankfully, as soon as one member of the audience pointed out that it was the engaged CPUs, the movie quickly became forgotten to the audience - why pay attention to the lovestruck princesses on screen when there were two right there in the theater?

Unfortunately, the theater's owner didn't appreciate the show the CPUs were giving the audience and had "kindly" asked them to leave. With that awkward situation out of the way, the two walked onwards, and now that they had time to think on it... both of them found themselves back in that moment in the theater.

Noire knew she should say something. She should be upset - she was upset! - but her heart was pounding and... And she could still feel Neptune's hand on her...

She didn't have to look at Neptune to guess that Neptune could still feel her. She knew Neptune well enough by now to know that.

Their cheeks burning, minds likely somewhere fairly close to the gutter, the two CPUs continued walking in silence. It seemed like this would continue forever if one of them didn't do something, but at the same time, neither one wanted to be the one to do it just yet.

As the duo passed a rather large fountain, Neptune decided it was time to break the ice. She didn't want to waste her whole day with Noire being embarrassed about something that totally wasn't worth being embarrassed over!

She briefly cast a glance into the fountain's water, the sparkle of countless coins glinking up at her from beneath the waves. Ironic that this was happening _here_ of all places.

"S-So... You know, the last time I did that to Compa, she was like 'Kyaaaaah!', but she didn't really mind all that much. It was totally weird, but that worked for me, you know? And I kinda got the feeling she was used to it! Hahaha, but that's crazy, right? There's no way Compa would be used to something like that! But stranger things have happened, right? Look at us, after all, hahaha!"

Noire stared at Neptune dully. A bead of sweat rolled down Neptune's neck.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

Neptune put on one of her popularity contest winning smiles.

"Did it?"

"... I think I'm going to just go back to the Basilicom before you take this 'date' to the Red Light District and ruin me for..." A pause. "Well, ruin me for yourself, I guess, but..."

With a sigh, Noire turned to go. This day had suddenly felt like it had been going on for far too long, and she just wanted to collapse in bed and let her mind rest, despite the fact that the day had barely begun and she knew her mind would just be filled with thoughts of Neptune, Neptune, and more Neptune.

To Noire's surprise, Neptune didn't follow her... Well, it wasn't like she'd wanted Neptune to do that or anything! About to stomp off and never look back, Noire shot a final look at Neptune, only for her to realize Neptune had seemingly completely forgotten about her - she'd apparently become entranced by the fountain they'd stopped nearby.

"Hey, Noire? C'mere," Neptune was now wearing a much gentler smile on her face, along with some other emotion Noire couldn't quite place, and she was motioning for Noire to join her. Raising an eyebrow, Noire slowly returned back to Neptune's side - but she wasn't planning on letting what she'd done in the theater slide just yet!

"What is it? Trying to apologize now?" Crossing her arms, Noire prepared herself to give Neptune a piece of her mind, and no amount of apologizing was going to let her escape Noire's wrath! Nothing Neptune could say or do could-

"Awww, come on, you know you liked it," Neptune replied dismissively. Noire's eyes bulged - whether it was because Neptune was _right_ or because the implication was so outrageous, Noire wasn't sure. She was ready to stomp off again, but Neptune seemed to truly be past the groping incident (how dare she! Noire sure wasn't past it yet!), for when she continued, her voice was solemn. "See those coins down there?"

"Coins?" Peering over the fountain's edge, Noire could indeed see coins in the fountain - in fact, with a gasp, Noire realized there were a ton of coins in there! Probably a few hundred thousand - maybe even a few million credits' worth!

"Yeah..." Neptune turned and placed her hands on the edge of the fountain, looking up at the sky wistfully. It was a rather sad expression, Noire realized, and seeing it on Neptune made her heart ache. Deciding that whatever had Neptune like this was far more important than her innocence, Noire watched Neptune and clutched a hand to her chest. Neptune closed her eyes and smiled - it was a mysterious smile that Noire knew didn't belong on Neptune. She was starting to get worried now. "There are a lot, huh?"

"Neptune, what are you getting at..." Noire looked from Neptune to the fountain. She had an inkling where this was headed, but she didn't particularly like it...

"Well, you know, people didn't originally use this fountain to make wishes," Neptune told her story, as if it was someone else's, without breaking a sweat. "But you know me, I never follow the rules. Planeptune's Guild isn't too far from here, and this fountain is riiiight smack in-between here and the Basilicom, so, you know, it was riiiiiight about here when I'd start getting depressed about everything."

"Neptune..." So that was it. Noire had figured it was something like this. She wasn't sure if she should be happy Neptune felt comfortable sharing this with her or upset that it had happened to the girl in the first place. Settling for the latter, Noire quietly listened to Neptune's tale.

If Neptune had heard Noire, she paid it no mind.

"And, well, I didn't really need the money I was making off the quests. I'm a CPU, after all! Sure, it'd be one thing if you could turn money into shares or to pay people to believe in you, but if it was that easy, I probably wouldn't be in this mess. So I'd take what I earned and I'd just dump it in here, every day. I'd close my eyes afterwards, and I'd wish and wish and wish... Hahaha, but you know what's funny? The only thing that ever came of it was that I lost Nepgear." Neptune laughed weakly. It wasn't exactly a forced laugh, but it was... bitter, maybe? "When that happened, I decided the whole 'wishing' thing was a big scam and never walked home this way again."

Neptune sighed, before turning to Noire with a sheepish look on her face.

"Pretty stupid, huh?"

It took a moment for Noire to realize she had started crying. It took her less than that to pull Neptune into her arms and hold her tight.

"Noire...?!"

"It's not stupid. What's stupid is saying that it's stupid, stupid!" Running her hands through Neptune's hair, Noire couldn't even begin to imagine what that must have been like - for things to be so hopeless that Neptune would just start dumping money away in some... vain, childish hope it would make a difference. It was positively heartbreaking. "There's nothing wrong with wanting to wish for something, especially when things are going bad for you. Even I've had wishes before that I knew I could never have granted."

Like to have you, Noire added to herself.

For a few moments, the two CPU simply stood there, Noire running her hands through Neptune's hair, and Neptune enjoying the feeling of being held by Noire. Truth be told, they were both enjoying this far more than they were willing to let the other know, and Neptune was feeling like it had been worth letting out her inner demons like she just had if it had gotten Noire to hold her like this...

No, that wasn't right. She couldn't just guilt Noire into... Into what? What was it that Neptune would want from her that she'd be hypothetically willing to guilt Noire into doing...? As her mind began to wander along that thought, her cheeks began to burn and she couldn't help but notice just where Noire was holding her. She kept her mouth shut, at least for a bit, because she was thoroughly enjoying being held by Noire - despite the feelings it was making bubble up in her chest - but...

Neptune's breath began to accelerate as her chest tightened. She needed an escape from this before these feelings, whatever they were, swallowed her whole. She had her guesses as to what they meant, but... Her and Noire? That was just crazy talk. Crazy talk that that must have been really convincing, though, because she was starting to realize she didn't mind the implications in the slightest.

Finally unable to take it, Neptune couldn't help but make a comment - if she stayed there any longer, she felt like she really would want to ruin Noire for marriage. Or did she already?

... Yeah, better say something.

"... Hey, Noire? Not to kill the mood or anything, but my face is in your-"

"Don't. Ruin this."

"Yes ma'am."


	9. Chapter 9

Once Neptune and Noire had realized that they had started to attract whispers and stares, they quickly had detached themselves from each other (much to Neptune's relief/dismay/relief/dismay/...dismief?) and did their best to look the picture of innocence. Though Noire had originally intended to leave, after that... moment that they'd shared, she'd decided to give Neptune another chance - but time would tell if Neptune, in true Neptune fashion, would blow it again.

"Putting aside the _incident_ at the movie theater..." Noire rather enjoyed the wince that graced Neptune's features as she brought it up. Good. Neptune knew she was still in the dog house for that one. "I still owe you the rest of the day, and I'm a CPU of my word, if nothing else. So where do you want to go next? I might let what you did slide if you pick something good."

Neptune had to think that one over.

She didn't particularly want to go to the arcade anymore, and at this point, she could deny they were on a date all she wanted, but seeing as the words had left her mouth at least half a dozen times now... Well, "playing innocent" didn't seem like it mattered as much as it had earlier.

That still didn't make this a date though!

"How about an amusement park?" Neptune wondered out loud. Seeing the suggestion pique Noire's interest via a raised eyebrow, Neptune decided to roll with it and see where it got her. "While I hate to admit that it's got nothing on that fancy pants place Lowee has, I really like what we've got here. Me and Nepgear used to go there all the time when Histoire would throw us out for not getting work done."

"An amusement park, huh...?" Images of being alone with Neptune on a ferris wheel, together on a roller coaster, and sharing a festive snack briefly flashed through Noire's mind. If she was going to enjoy her fantasies, might as well give them something to go off of, right? "So long as you can keep up with me, I'll gladly accept your invitation."

"That's the spirit, Noire!" Pumping a fist in the air, Neptune rewarded Noire with a brief victory pose, which was given a sigh in return. Trust the sourpuss to not join her in a victory pose!

As they turned to leave the fountain, Noire hesitated. Neptune looked at her curiously, but Noire seemed to be too busy inwardly debating something with herself to notice Neptune's look. After what seemed to be a fierce battle, Noire withdrew a single credit coin from her inventory and closed her eyes.

On any other day, Neptune might have teased Noire. If she had been doing any other thing, Neptune might have teased Noire. But there was something oddly profound, oddly touching, and absolutely beautiful about this scene. The way Noire's eyes were scrunched shut as she concentrated on whatever she was wishing for, the way she was swaying back and forth as she thought, the way the afternoon sun hit her just right...

Neptune's heart skipped a beat as Noire tossed the coin into the fountain, her hair blowing gently in the breeze. Neptune had been completely sucked into the sight, and for a brief moment, she was struck breathless, and a realization dawned on her - a fact that she wondered if she'd known all along but had simply been too ignorant to pay it proper attention.

Noire was beautiful.

Then, as quickly as the moment had come, it was gone. Noire smiled cutely to herself, a light blush gracing her cheeks, and Neptune could do nothing but stare dumbly at the smiling CPU.

Suddenly, Neptune realized that she would totally not mind it if this was a date.

"I think I'm in trouble."

* * *

The journey to the amusement park hadn't been very exciting - at least compared to how the rest of the day had been going so far. The two CPUs chatted about games and other silly things as they walked - Neptune had been so busy trying to develop lately that she'd barely had time to play until these past few days. Noire, naturally, was happy to take a superior attitude about the whole thing and bring Neptune up to speed - an attitude that Neptune brought crashing down with a simple comment.

"Gee, I didn't think hardworking CPUs like you were supposed to have enough free time to know all this kind of stuff."

While Neptune laughed gleefully at the reaction she earned (a blushing, mouth-flapping-open-and-closed Lastation CPU), Noire ultimately decided to keep silent unless prompted for the rest of the trip, lest she walk right into another trap of Neptune's.

"Hey, hey, Noire?" Never one to leave someone unprompted, Neptune began peering curiously at her friend. Silence was always a pain, as far as Neptune was concerned, and it was doubly so when she and Noire should be having the time of their lives! When Neptune had decided she had gotten Noire's attention, she continued. "What'd you wish for?"

Ah. Noire had been hoping Neptune wouldn't ask.

Or had she been?

A blush rose to Noire's cheeks at the memory of just how hard she'd been hoping for it, as well as what the wish specifically was. There was no way she could just up and tell Neptune she'd wished for _that_...!

Noire flipped one of her twintails and folded her arms over her chest.

"That's for me to know and you to try to find out," she responded defiantly. Or make come true. Whichever came first, Noire decided, though she supposed it would be a hot day in Lowee before either happened. She smirked as Neptune pouted, but she had to hold her ground on this - that or lie, and she didn't particularly feel like spoiling the gesture she had made with a lie.

"Hmph! See if I share anything with you again..." Neptune's response was half-hearted - she actually rather liked the idea of sharing more things with Noire. Noire, despite how much of a defensive little tsundere she could be, could be so good to her when Neptune really needed it - and Neptune had been needing it for a while.

"Oh come on, you know that's not fair!" Noire knew Neptune was teasing - and she knew she had told herself she wouldn't fall for any more of the other CPU's tricks - but that was crossing some kind of line, wasn't it? For Neptune to be willing to trust Noire with her deepest feelings like that? Noire didn't want to risk losing that, even over a joke. "Wishes are supposed to be a secret, and I'm not letting you guilt trip me into spilling mine. It won't come true if I do that!"

Neptune eyed Noire skeptically for a few moments, as if she were looking over a piece of meat.

"W-What? I don't like that look in your eye."

"Nothing, nothing!" Neptune quickly resumed her jovial expression, flashing Noire a grin and skipping a few paces ahead. "Just thinking 'Now that's the Lonely Heart I know and love!' is all." A beat - Noire's eyes flashed with a variety of emotions, but none reached Neptune, for her goal had finally appeared on the horizon. "Hurry up, Noire! We're almost there!"

"Ah, wait-" Noire reached to grab Neptune, to pull her back, but the smaller CPU was already dashing ahead eagerly, melding into the crowd ahead of them of happy amusement parkgoers.

Despite Neptune's claim that Planeptune's amusement park wasn't as good as Lowee's, even from this distance, Noire had to admit she was a bit impressed - though that might have a bit to do with the fact that places like this were few and far between in Lastation. She could see a variety of attractions already from where she was, and there was a decent sized crowd of people gathered around the entrance. The place certainly seemed lively enough.

As Noire got closer to the entrance of the amusement park, she noticed various posters on the sides of buildings and posts and even vehicles. They were decorated with fanciful characters and designs, all in the hopes of bringing in customers to the amusement park. From the looks of it, there was even a special show for a few days only that they might be able to see, though details were sparse on a simple poster - it simply had a picture of heroic looking characters in suits of various colors along with a handful of dates, one of them being today's.

Seeing Neptune stopped at the entrance not too far from where she was walking, Noire picked up speed - she didn't want to keep her waiting, and she was actually starting to feel something akin to anticipation building in her chest. Swallowing nervously, she held her arm up to make sure Neptune could see her and picked up the pace.

Up ahead, Neptune was actually rather glad that there was some space between her and Noire now. Though it wouldn't be for long, it gave her a little breathing room, which she'd been feeling like she could really use, since her mind kept wandering back to Noire at the fountain...

Her cheeks burned just thinking about it.

But there was no way, right? The whole idea of her and Noire was just...

... Okay, so they _were_ getting married, and thanks to the miracles of the internet, the majority of Planeptune probably knew about this "date" by now, and Neptune herself had already admitted to herself that maybe she wouldn't mind if this maybe were an actual date maybe, but- but that didn't mean squat!

As if to prove that she felt nothing, Neptune looked back to her friend pointedly, awaiting the moment she could tell herself something like: "Ha! I don't feel anything for Noire!"

Noire, who was rushing to catch up with her, her hair flowing behind her, twintails bouncing up and down, her cheeks tinged with just a little red from the running, her chest bouncing lightly with every step she made, her legs going up and down, her outfit showing off _just_ enough thigh-

Neptune's eyes widened as she realized where her thoughts were going (and had gone) and she promptly turned despite Noire's waving at her.

She had been checking Noire out.

_She had totally been checking Noire out._

That wasn't the worst of it though.

The worst of it was she'd _really_ been enjoying the view.

"Sheesh, don't run off like that!" Neptune's face lit up as she felt Noire's hand come down on her shoulder. Noire, unable to see her purple haired friend's expression, had no idea what effect she was having on the other girl, and thus paid it no mind. "You could have at least gone ahead and gotten the tickets if you were so eager to dash off like that. Honestly..."

Neptune, on the other hand, couldn't believe herself. Getting so worked up over Noire? She must be coming down with something! This whole wedding thing had to be getting to her, that was it. Deciding on that, Neptune took a deep breath to calm her nerves.

"I thought you were treating me?" Neptune slowly turned to Noire, a teasing grin on her face-

Gaaaah! Why did she have to be so close!? Neptune was trying to be in denial here! Personal space, Noire, personal space!

"Nep...tune?" Noire watched Neptune's face incredulously. At first it had looked like Neptune was about to start teasing her, but she'd frozen up on Noire and was just... staring. It was getting kind of creepy. Sighing, Noire stepped away from her fellow CPU. "Fine, I'll get the tickets, but you're getting the snacks once we're inside. Deal?"

"Sounds good to me!" With Noire out of her bubble and her getting a free trip into one of her favorite spots in Planeptune, Neptune's mood increased considerably, to the point where she, in true Neptune fashion, forgot all about the worries she'd been having just a moment ago. After all, why worry about stuff like that when it was amusement park time?! "Come on, Noire, let's go!"

"Wait-" Before Noire could protest, Neptune had grabbed her by the wrist once again and was dashing towards the ticket booth. Whatever that brief moment had been, it seemed to have passed, which Noire was glad to see. Smiling to herself, Noire let Neptune take her along. If Neptune could be happy like this, then she could be too.


	10. Chapter 10

"So what do you want to do first?" Noire asked, peeking at Neptune from over the amusement park map she'd obtained after getting the tickets. While Noire seemed interested in making some kind of plan, if she had to guess, Neptune would probably just want to go to whatever seemed interesting that was within sight. "Apparently the roller coaster is pretty popu-"

Noire stopped herself when she realized that, as she was now, Neptune wouldn't be able to ride it. She quickly covered her mouth, torn between apologizing and laughing at the short statured CPU she was with. She knew it wasn't the CPU's fault she couldn't transform right now, nor was it her fault that her human form was the way it was, but still!

Luckily for Noire, Neptune was currently entranced by the various stands of carnival food. Her eyes were sparkling at the idea of all the delicious things she could fill her tummy with, and after a few moments of staring (and possibly drooling), she turned to Noire.

"You hungry yet?" Her voice was filled with hope and expectation - hope that Noire would be famished, expectation that they would be able to pig out on unhealthy park food, that they would be able to eat to their hearts' content, and then... Bliss.

Unfortunately for Neptune, Noire did not think with her stomach as Neptune often did.

"We just got here!" Noire cried indignantly, slapping the back of her hand against the park map. "We have as much time as we want to eat, but if you really want to eat, then we can do it afterwards at a restaurant or something! Let's go on some rides or play some games or something instead."

The idea of going to a restaurant was both intruiging and disappointing to Neptune. On the one hand, she could totally get Noire to take her to one of her favorite places... But on the other hand, that meant she wouldn't be able to eat her fill of food here, since she'd have to save room. What a dilemma!

"I guess we can eat later..." Finally giving in to Noire, Neptune sighed dramatically and cast a forlorn look towards all of the food she would be parting ways with, perhaps never to consume. Truly, the world was harsh. Neptune reached out towards them, as if she was trying to say goodbye. "I'll be back for you...!"

"Oh for heaven's sake!" Hands on her hips, Noire walked past Neptune and headed towards one of the stands. Neptune watched curiously as Noire exchanged some credits for two cotton candies and began heading back towards Neptune, who was getting more and more excited at the prospect of what Noire was bringing over. Finally, Noire stood before Neptune and offered one of the two treats she had obtained. "Here. Will this keep you happy for a little while?"

"You sure bet it will!" Neptune cried out in delight, grabbing the cotton candy from Noire and looking up at the other CPU with wide, adoring eyes. What a goddess! "I love you, Noire!"

Noire froze, Neptune's words repeating in her head over and over, as a blissfully ignorant Neptune began eating her cotton candy, oblivious to the world around her. Noire knew full well that Neptune hadn't meant anything by that - that her belly was the one talking - but a blush found its way to Noire's cheeks all the same.

Neptune had just said _she loved her_!

Noire took a small bite of her own cotton candy, attempting to calm herself down as she watched Neptune chow down. There were bits of the treat sticking to her face and hands, which for some reason just made Noire stare even more. Noire took another bite and tried not to picture herself reaching over and helping Neptune clean herself off.

She failed. Miserably.

"... I think I'm in trouble..."

"Huh? Did you say something, Noire?"

"Y-Yeah, as a matter of fact, I did! Clean your face, or I'm never getting you anything to eat again!"

"Aaaah, noooo! Anything but that!"

* * *

After finishing their cotton candy, the pair of CPUs decided that playing some carnival games would be the best way to start off their afternoon at the amusement park. They'd passed quite a few games already, but had yet to find one that interested either of them. Noire was beginning to wonder if maybe they should have just gone to an arcade if they were going to wander around looking at games but not playing them, when Neptune finally spoke.

"Oh wow, look at that Dogoo doll! And that Ancient Dragon!" Neptune's attention had been captured by a pair of silly looking plushes of some monsters that were on the shelf of one of the game stands they were passing. In fact, the shelf had dozens of different silly monster plushes, and Neptune seemed to be interested in all of them. "Hahahaha, look at their faces, Noire!"

A sparkle came to Noire's eyes as she watched this scene play out. An idea began to take form - but she had to be calm about it, or she would mess up the timing completely. Fighting back a grin, the Lastation CPU tossed a hand through her hair and coughed, to draw Neptune's attention to her.

"D-Do you want it...?" Noire had to be careful. This- If she had to put it into logical terms, this was totally an event flag if she ever saw one! Even if this wasn't exactly a date, she could still use this type of scene to totally improve her standing with Neptune, couldn't she? Maybe that was just her fantasies talking again, but...

Noire closed her eyes for a brief moment, wondering just how this could play out...

"Do you want them, Neptune?" Noire stepped forward with a daring look on her face. Surprised, Neptune looked up at her companion, before nodding repeatedly. Noire ran a hand through her hair, then ruffled Neptune's, flashing her an award winning smile. "Just sit tight, Neptune. I'll have them for you in a flash."

"Uwooooh!" Neptune cried, her hands balled up into little fists as she watched the amazing Lastation CPU, Lady Noire, make her way to the game. Her eyes shone with adoration as she watched Noire, her hair flowing dramatically in the wind as the crowd of people surrounding the game parted to make way for the wonderful Lady Black Heart. "Go, Noire, go!"

The crowd began whispering as Noire drew closer to the game stand. Comments of disbelief and awe arose from the people - was that really Lady Black Heart, about to go for the all time record? There was no way! No one had done it in years!

But Lady Black Heart wasn't just anyone.

"Give me two shots," Noire demanded, placing enough credits down on the table before the stand's owner. The owner was a tough looking man - fierce, with scars going up one arm and tattoos going down the other. Certainly a worthy opponent. Noire smirked and nodded towards the two prizes she wanted - wanted for Neptune that is. "Give me enough shots for those - and assume that I won't miss a single one, would you?"

"It's your funeral, little lady..." The man's voice was gruff, and Noire wondered if this game would be rigged somehow - surely he didn't want his precious record being taken, did he? But even if it was rigged, she decided, she would beat it anyway - for Neptune. The man handed offered her a slingshot and six golf balls, before motioning to the targets behind him. "Three bulls eyes wins you a prize. Still only want six?"

"Six is plenty," Noire's response was cool, confident, and ready. If she didn't know better, she was certain that at least one person in the crowd swooned. Grasping the first ball tightly in her hand, Noire placed it in the slingshot. She closed one eye and carefully took aim...

With a light "whoosh" of air upon the ball's release and a "thunk" as the ball made contact with the bulls eye, Noire turned to the man. He shrugged - anyone could have beginner's luck. Noire then turned to Neptune, who was watching Noire with wide, adoring eyes... Noire smirked at the other CPU...

"Five more to go..." Noire murmured to herself, poking her fingers together as her cheeks burned delightfully red. She blinked a few times as the sound of cheers brought her back to reality. Ah, what had she been doing, zoning out like that? Now wasn't the time for this - she had prizes to win!

Noire turned to her side - clearly Neptune hadn't heard her question earlier (or she had and Noire hadn't been paying attention to hear her answer) - but to her surprise, Neptune was nowhere to be seen. Noire turned one way, then the other, but no matter what direction she looked in, her friend - and the object of her earlier fantasy - wasn't anywhere around.

"Noire, Noire! Look what I won!" Slowly, Noire turned towards the source of the familiar voice - the voice that was coming from the direction of all the cheering. Noire's eyes widened as Neptune came rushing towards her... with her arms filled with not two, but four stuffed animals. While Noire had been standing there in her own little world, Neptune had gone and won herself some prizes.

Noire could almost actually see the flag that had been raised before her very eyes snapping and falling over.

As Neptune finally reached Noire, to Noire's surprise, she found a Dogoo and Ancient Dragon being thrust towards her, complete with a cheerful grin from Neptune.

"Since you were so busy thinking or whatever, I figured I'd get two of each so we could have matching pairs. Pretty nice of me, huh?" Though she was coming off as boastful, Noire found herself genuinely touched by Neptune's action. It wasn't every day that Neptune got people gifts. Was she just in the spirit of the amusement park, or...?

Noire's eyes widened as she took the stuffed dolls into her arms, realizing that this could only mean one thing.

Did... Did this mean _Neptune_ had been the one to go for an event flag!? If she had, then...

Noire shook her head violently. There was no way that Neptune had tried to pull a flag on her or anything like that. Neptune was the type of person who just went with the flow, and with so many people winning gifts for their dates (not that Noire was actually Neptune's date or anything!) Neptune had probably just figured that it was the "in" thing to do or something like that, that was all.

And besides... Neptune just didn't care about her like that, didn't see her in that way.

Her heart sinking, Noire resisted the urge to find a wall to bang her head against, instead opting to put her newly acquired dolls into her inventory as Neptune did the same. Watching the other CPU, it really didn't seem like Neptune had meant anything by the gifts, so Noire probably shouldn't take it as such...

She had been spending too much time with Vert lately, Noire decided. Too many business meetings that had turned into gaming-slash-girltalk sessions... And girltalk with Vert tended to be dangerous, dangerous stuff.

_Meanwhile, somewhere in Leanbox, a CPU (that had been in the process of ordering yet another get-well gift for a certain CPU Candidate) sneezed._

_"Sister, sister! Are you alright?"_

"So, ready to go?" Neptune grinned up at Noire, like she always did. Noire's expression softened as she saw this.

There was still a heavy feeling in her chest, but at the same time... Seeing Neptune smile like that, Noire found her spirits lifting just a little too.

Why waste time fantasizing about things that would never be when she had the real deal right before her very eyes? As depressing as it was... She still had Neptune right here, willing to be with her as she was. And if that wasn't worth something, she didn't know what was.

"Always."


	11. Chapter 11

After playing some more games for about an hour, the two CPUs decided it was time for some rides. Unfortunately, as fate would have it, most of the ones that Neptune was actually tall enough to go on were either under repair or had huge, huge lines, leaving the duo without much to do in the rides department.

"How about we just use our 'Hey, we're CPUs! Let us in!' cards to skip the lines?" Neptune had suggested, half-jokingly. She didn't really intend to make use of such a card — not that it existed in the first place — but she was curious to see how Noire would react to the idea.

Needless to say, the raven haired CPU hadn't taken it well.

Neptune and Noire eventually found themselves seated at a picnic table, snacking on a variety of treats that they'd picked up from various stands on the way over (Neptune had finally gotten Noire to give in). Noire had picked what she felt was more appropriate food — a caramel apple and fried onion she was splitting with Neptune. Neptune, along with the friend onion, had snatched up just about everything she could get her hands on, much to Noire's dismay.

"Something tells me someone won't be in the mood for dinner..." she grumbled to herself, watching Neptune finish off her corndog in one tremendous bite before moving on to finish off the last of the fried onion. Noire had been looking forward to going to a nice restaurant with Neptune, too!

... Well, she supposed she could always drag Neptune out somewhere after the wedding. It wasn't like spending time together would be hard once all of that was settled, now would it?

A light blush rose to Noire's cheeks as she wondered how things would change after the wedding. Chances were that she and Neptune wouldn't start living together right away — if they would at all, but Noire certainly hoped they would. There would definitely be a lot of work involved, and something told her Neptune wouldn't be as eager to take time off as she would have been in the old days with Nepgear still out of commission.

Noire frowned. Would Neptune drown herself in work, like she had been before Histoire had brought the other CPUs into it? That wasn't a particularly appetizing thought, but at the same time, it seemed like it was the most likely... Noire had better prepare herself for it. It wasn't like she had been hoping for a honeymoon or anything (especially knowing Neptune), but the fact that Neptune might out and out run off hadn't occurred to her until this moment.

Sighing, Noire took a small bite of her apple. This was going to be incredibly complicated, wasn't it?

Well, moreso than it already was.

"Noire? What's wrong? Something not agreeing with you?" Neptune's voice quickly brought Noire out of her thoughts. Blinking, Noire glanced back to Neptune and nearly dropped her apple — Neptune had finished all of her food in the short time Noire had been thinking to herself.

"... Want to finish this? I'm suddenly not hungry," offering Neptune the apple, Noire watched as the purple haired girl lit up and snatched the half-eaten apple out of Noire's hands. Noire shook her head, fighting back the urge to smirk. Neptune could be so easy to read sometimes.

"Thanks Noire!" Neptune cried between mouthfuls of apple. The sight was both endearing and, well, disgusting. As soon as Neptune finished it, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and stood. "You sit tight, okay? I'll throw all of this stuff out, then we can figure out what to do next."

"Huh?" Noire tilted her head as Neptune began to gather up the remains of their snack (or feast, in Neptune's cast) before heading off to find the nearest trash receptacle. That had been oddly... nice of her.

Noire placed her elbow on the table and her chin in her hand, watching Neptune look for somewhere to take the trash. Noire could have pointed out that there had been one right next to the picnic table, but watching Neptune look around helplessly was just funny — little did Noire know that Neptune had gone off on her own on purpose.

"I really am glad she can still be herself, even in these circumstances..." Not talking to anyone in particular, Noire closed her eyes. It was almost hard to believe that this was the same CPU that had been sobbing in her arms just a few days ago. And yet... it was. Despite how Neptune was acting now, inside, those feelings were still there, weren't they?

Noire felt a pang of guilt stab at her as she thought back to that frail, pitiful form of Neptune that she had held in her arms.

What kind of person was she to fantasize about a person who was in such pain? Wasn't she just taking advantage of Neptune, taking advantage of Planeptune's situation? Vert had told Noire that she was being "mostly" noble, but Noire had to wonder if she was being even a little noble in what she was doing. Sitting her, on a "date" with Neptune — a "date" that was only possible because of this whole marriage thing — she didn't feel particularly noble.

"... my mission is to gather information on what makes amusement parks successful, and then return back to my school with the data I gather so we can use it for our school festival."

"Wow, Marvy, sounds like it'll be fun! Can I come?"

"I don't see why not. I'll send you a message over Chirper with more details later."

"Great!"

Noire opened her eyes at the sounds of approaching voices. To her surprise, Neptune wasn't alone — with her was the ninja-slash-student, MarvelousAQL, who Neptune had encountered a few years back on one of her crazy adventures. The busty orange-haired ninja was wearing a peculiar outfit, Noire noticed. It was some kind of red jumpsuit, and she carried a matching helmet under her arm.

"Hello, Lady Noire," MarvelousAQL was usually polite, and today seemed to be no different. Noire nodded in response as Marvy and Neptune seated themselves across from Noire, but she couldn't help but be taken in by what the ninja was wearing. It wasn't as if the outfit was alien to Noire — in fact, as a cosplayer, she'd even worn a similar outfit once, but the fact that Marvy was wearing it in public like this?

"Hello, Marvy. I hope you don't mind my asking, but... What's with the getup?" Noire couldn't help but let her curiosity get the better of her. As her eyes had been on MarvelousAQL and only MarvelousAQL, she missed Neptune's eyes light up mischievously at Noire's question.

"I'm glad you asked!" Marvy smiled brightly and placed her helmet on the table. "I'm going to be playing the main character in the special performance that starts in a little while, and this is my costume for it. Neptune was actually just telling me how you two were going to come watch, so I was going to get you two some special seats."

Noire blinked. They hadn't had any plans like that, but... There wouldn't be any harm, would there? It might even be fun.

"Yeah, that's right," Noire offered a smile to the ninja. "I'm ready to go now if you two are."

"I was born ready!" Neptune piped in. If Noire hadn't been giving most of her attention to MarvelousAQL, she might have realized Neptune sounded a little too eager — like she had just watched a particularly large fish grab onto her bait.

"Then it's settled. Let's go, Marvy."

As Noire got up and stretched, closing her eyes as she did, MarvelousAQL and Neptune shared a high five.

Things were going all according to plan.

* * *

"This is one of those kinds of shows, huh?"

Noire looked around the audience curiously. It mostly consisted of children and their parents, though there were more than a few people that were older as well. Having never been to one of these (she'd only seen them in anime), Noire couldn't help but be a little excited — but only a little bit!

"I guess so? I don't know what you mean by 'those kinds of shows,' but they're always really fun!" Neptune seemed cheerful enough, so Noire had decided to stop worrying about things for the time being and just enjoy the show. "Nepgear's favorite part is when the robot comes out. Oh, and this one time, we were here with NISA, right? And she thought the stuff happening on stage was real! So she jumped up and..."

Noire smiled as she listened to Neptune's story. It was obviously a tale from when Neptune was still able to slack off all the time, able to come to places like this whenever she wanted without concern for appearances or worry over shares. It was nice that Neptune still held such memories close.

"- oh! It's starting!"

Noire turned from the other CPU towards the stage — and sure enough, music had started playing, and after five explosions of different colors, five different heroes made their entrance on the stage.

"Nep Red!" There was Marvy. Though Noire couldn't see her face now that the ninja had her mask on, the costume was the same as the one she'd been wearing earlier — not to mention that the girl's bust was quite memorable. Behind Marvy, four more heroes announced themselves.

"Nep Blue!"

"Nep Yellow!"

"Nep Purple!"

"Nep Pink!"

"And together..." The five of them began to pose in unison. "Heroes of Planeptune and protectors of Gamindustri! We are..." Explosions and confetti burst from the ground behind the five heroes. "The Nep Rangers!"

The crowd erupted in cheers. It was so loud that Noire nearly jumped out of her seat — what made it more surprising was that Neptune was cheering right along with them. Trust Neptune to get swept up by something like this.

With their introductions out of the way, the show could start in full. The heroes first began interacting with each other, doing some sort of comedy skit. The children seemed to love it, and even the older fans seemed thoroughly entertained by the heroes acting just a bit out of character for the show. As the show continued, there was a monster attack — the children all cried out in surprise, while the announcer declared that the heroes needed the children's cheers to help fight off the enemy.

Noire smiled faintly, picturing the CPU Candidates in the audience, cheering their hearts out to help the heroes... Well, Uni probably wouldn't cheer. She was like Noire like that. Nepgear would probably be concerned about the heroes and be doing her best, while still trying to look like an adult, and the twins would probably be two of the loudest in the audience. Uni though... Noire shook her head. She wondered if Uni would want to cheer, but would be too embarrassed, or if she'd think the whole thing was too childish.

She hadn't been spending as much time with Uni lately, had she? Uni had been so busy with work — not that this was anything new, but ever since the incident with the Deity of Sin, Noire had tried to make at least a little time for her sister every so often... And of course, she always did her best to look her best when she was around her sister! But here Uni was, far too busy for her now, while Noire seemed to have more time on her hands than ever with how much success she was having. It was kind of ironic.

Well, at least she'd gotten away to come see Nepgear, so that was a start.

Returning her attention to the show, Noire watched as the heroes were pushed back by the monsters. Children cried out in the audience, and it looked to Noire like even Neptune was ready to jump in. There was something... unsettling about Neptune right now, actually. Maybe she was just really enjoying the show, but the smile she had on her face was just... Unfortunately, Noire didn't have much time to think on it, because as soon as she opened her mouth to ask Neptune what was wrong, the announcer made a declaration.

"Uh oh! Our heroes are in real trouble now!" Running onto the front of the stage, the young woman who had been giving commentary throughout the show pointed dramatically towards the crowd. "It looks like we're going to have to call out to a member of the audience for help! And wouldn't you know it..."

Neptune's grin widened. Noire frowned, turning to her friend as the stage grew dark and a spotlight began searching through the crowd, as if looking for someone...

"Neptune, what are you-"

The spotlight froze on Noire.

"... Lady Black Heart of Lastation is here, and she's raring to go!" Pointing at Noire, who suddenly felt very small, the announcer motioned for the CPU to join her onstage. "Hurry up, Nep Black! Our heroes need _your_ help! You're the only one who can save them now!"

"N... Nep Black!?" Noire slowly got to her feet, shaking slightly as she felt all eyes on her. She felt her cheeks burning — what was expected of her!? — as she looked around, seeing the gazes of countless children watching her expectantly, placing all of their hopes in her. T-This was just too much!

"You heard them, Nep Black!" Neptune gave Noire a light shove, and Noire realized in that instant that Neptune must have set this entire thing up when she ran into MarvelousAQL earlier.

"H... Here I go!" Fighting the urge to drag Neptune up there with her Noire transformed into her HDD form — much to the excitement of the crowd — and floated over to the stage. She blushed, realizing she was probably supposed to do something — so Noire did her best imitation of the poses the heroes had done earlier, tossed some of her hair behind her, and declared for the world to hear: "N-Nep Black is here! Watch out, bad guys!"

For a brief moment, there was silence — then the crowd erupted in excited cheers.

"A-Ah, you didn't have to pose or anything..." the announcer whispered into Noire's ear. Noire quickly dropped her hands to her side, her cheeks turning crimson.

Even though Noire couldn't hear it over all the cheers and camera flashes her posing had earned her, she just _knew_ Neptune was laughing at her right then.


	12. Chapter 12

The crowd erupted in their final wave of cheers and applause as the five heroes gave a bow and retreated to the area behind the stage. As soon as they did, Noire stood up from her seat. She had been "returned" (Marvy had carried her back bridal-style, much to Noire's horror and Neptune's amusement) after her "dramatic fight scene" in which she'd rescused the Nep Rangers had finished, and she had refused to look at Neptune once since.

"Awww, come on 'Nep Black,' I thought you were great..." Neptune's voice was a mixture of teasing and amusement. Noire's eye twitched at the thought of Neptune plotting behind her back to have her go up on stage like that. Oh, Neptune would _pay_ for this! Maybe not today, probably not tomorrow, definitely not the day after that (that was the wedding after all), but someday!

"We are _not_ talking right now. What we're doing is _leaving_ this horrible place," Still not looking at Neptune, Noire crossed her arms and turned to leave — but to her surprise, as the cheers began to die down around her, a small (but growing) crowd of children soon started to surround her. Blinking at them, Noire backed up, while Neptune could only giggle, already realizing what Noire was in for. "W-What is it?"

At once, dozens of little mouths opened, and Noire realized she should have just kept her own mouth shut.

"Can you sign this?"

"Me first, me first!"

"Lady Black Heart, will you come back for the next show?"

"Please say you will!"

"The Nep Rangers need you!"

"They're counting on you, Lady Black Heart!"

"There was no way they could have done it without you!"

"You're my new favorite! Nep Black forever!"

"Are you going to be in the TV show with them too?"

"That would be so cool! You should bring Lady Purple Heart too!"

It took what seemed to Noire like hours for the excited children to finish with her, before their parents finally took them away. Neptune informed her it had only been about one, which didn't make Noire feel any better... But despite Noire's complaints, Neptune could see that smile fighting to break out on Noire's face. She had enjoyed the attention, hadn't she?

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Neptune finally asked Noire as the pair headed towards the exit — Noire still occasionally getting a glance or nod from passerby. Neptune had really just wanted to have a little bit of fun with Noire, but at the same time, she did feel kind of bad for putting her on the spot like that... Well, only a little bit.

"I... suppose it wasn't," Noire admitted, sighing and looking to the sky. She wouldn't admit it, but playing hero for a little bit had been kind of... fun. The cheers from the audience had certainly given her ego a nice little boost, as embarrassing as the whole debacle had been. She could almost see why NISA was always so eager to do that kind of thing... Biting her lip, Noire turned to Neptune, a warning look on her face. "Just warn me next time, okay?"

"Next time?" Neptune's eyes lit up. Stretching her arms behind her, Neptune grinned at her black haired friend. "So there's going to be a next time? Will Nep Black steal the show once again? Ohhh, my heart's beating like crazy just thinking about it!"

"T-That wasn't what I meant! Idiot!"

Finally, after hours of fun, the two CPUs left the amusement park — Neptune still thoroughly amused thanks to Noire's performance — and began heading back to the Basilicom. Neptune informed Noire that, since it was starting to get late, Noire could stay over in one of the guest rooms — Uni too, if she wanted.

Noire agreed, and the pair chatted about their time at the amusement park (minus that damn show, which Noire very much appreciated), made plans to go to Lowee's someday, possibly with the other CPUs, and overall they simply enjoyed the company of the other.

As the pair began getting closer to the Basilicom, Noire bit her lip. Though they'd ended up eating at the amusement park after all, she wanted to say something. She had been kind of looking forward to eating out with Neptune, just the two of them. Shooting a glance at the purple haired CPU, Noire wondered if Neptune even had room for more food.

Neptune, meanwhile, was just trying to process the events of the day. She was starting to suspect that she might... maybe... _perhaps_... pooooossibly... _prooooooooobably_ harbor... _something_ towards Noire. Her mind kept wandering back to that moment at the fountain, and she had a sneaking suspicion that she knew what she was feeling, but... That was just...

It was impossible!

Sighing, Neptune ran a hand through her hair. She couldn't think like this. She just couldn't. Noire was her friend (much as she teased the other CPU for not having any), and this kind of thing would just mess things up between them, which was the last thing Neptune wanted to do before their marriage even started.

Still... Much as she wanted to deny it... Noire had been making her feel something, that was for sure, and Neptune wasn't _totally_ clueless. The feelings that were running through her... They weren't totally bad, either. In fact, none of them were...

If only she had someone to talk to about all of this...

Noire watched Neptune out of the corner of her eye, still debating on whether or not she should bring up the subject of dinner. It looked like Neptune was deep in thought about something, and Noire wasn't sure if she would appreciate a distraction or not. On the one hand, if Neptune was upset, then Noire definitely would be more than happy to offer a distraction — but on the other... Neptune _did_ have a lot to think about right now. Maybe she was better off left to her thoughts?

Noire looked up at the sky, which had darkened significantly in just the past few minutes alone now that the sun was setting. Her day with Neptune was coming to an end... She wondered if Neptune had gotten to do everything she'd wanted, or if things hadn't gone how she would have liked? Maybe she had too much on her mind to take advantage of Noire to the fullest?

The longer they walked in silence, the more Noire wanted to say something. This wasn't just Neptune, the clutzy, silly, brave, never-give-up little CPU — this was the girl that Noire was _marrying_. Even if their relationship wasn't exactly how Noire would have had it in their dreams, they were still going to be stuck together for life. If they couldn't talk about stuff now, what did that say about the future?

Nodding to herself, Noire cleared her throat and stopped walking. Neptune, finally pulled away from whatever she had been thinking, stopped and turned to Noire.

"Neptune, you know..." Taking a deep breath, Noire placed a hand on her chest and gave the other CPU a firm, but concerned look. "If there's something on your mind, you can talk to me about it." Noire paused. That was too forward, wasn't it? Ohhhh no, Neptune would get the wrong idea! Fix it, fix it Noire, hurry! "I-It's not like I'm interested in helping you or anything, but if you're going to be walking along all gloomy like that, then someone has to say something."

Neptune inwardly cursed whatever deity had been listening to her plea and had decided Noire would be the one to try to listen to her. A little voice in the back of Neptune's mind pointed out that Noire herself was a deity, but the implications there were just too much for Neptune to handle, so she quickly brushed that voice aside.

"I'm not gloomy!" Neptune protested, putting one hand on her hip and sticking her tongue out at Noire. Pausing, considering that maybe it wouldn't hurt to talk to Noire, Neptune licked her lips and continued. "I'm just... confused about some things is all. But you know me, that's totally normal, hahaha!"

Noire raised an eyebrow.

"And just what is it that you're confused about?" she asked, half-worried and half-curious. She could understand Neptune being depressed — Neptune had more than her share of reasons to be depressed — but confused? Nothing particularly confusing had happened today, unless she was talking about something... bigger than today, which just didn't seem like Neptune either. Reaching for Neptune's free hand, Noire continued. "It can't be that big a deal, right?"

"A-Ahaha..." Neptune's heart skipped a beat as she felt her hand be encased in Noire's own. She felt an increasingly familiar sensation in her chest, and she knew it was time to do something before she wouldn't be able to deny it anymore. "You'd be surprised, Noire... Or should I say Nep Black?"

"Ugh!" Noire snatched her hand back, much to Neptune's relief. "I thought I told you to stop that!"

"Never!" Giving Noire a cheery grin, more to get the other CPU off her trail than for any genuine reason, Neptune began running ahead of Noire, raising her arm in a wave. "Last one to the Basilicom is the 'bottom'!"

It took Noire a moment to catch on to Neptune's meaning, but that was all the purple haired CPU needed to get a decent lead. Noire watched her disappear into the crowd ahead, before shaking her head and rubbing her temples.

"Looks like dinner is off after all..."

Beyond flustered, Noire decided it would be better to let Neptune win this one than to give in and chase after her. She'd gotten enough stares today, thank you very much.

* * *

In the end, the two CPUs had opted to raid the Basilicom's fridge for their dinner. Neptune ate her meal in-between turns in some RPG, while Noire decided to eat in the dining room with Histoire.

Few words beyond "good night" and "had fun today" were shared between Neptune and Noire as they headed their separate ways that night. Noire wanted to get to bed early, whereas Neptune was doing all she could to get her mind off of the day's events by mindlessly grinding in a video game.

And thus, that was how Noire found herself lying awake in the one of the Basilicom's guest room beds, staring at the ceiling. She had wanted to get to sleep early, yes, but now that she was here in bed, all she could do was find herself thinking. She thought about the day she had had with Neptune... Would she have more days like this in the future? Or was this just a special treat?

"If you can call getting humiliated over and over a treat..." Noire murmured to herself, rolling over in the fluffy bed she found herself in. For a guest room, it was surprisingly comfortable. Then again, with how often Neptune used to entertain guests — ranging from herself and the other CPUs to giant robots from other worlds — it wasn't that odd, really. "It wasn't all bad though... It's not like Neptune did _all_ of that on purpose... And the stuff she did do on purpose wasn't _all_ bad... Maybe."

On the other hand, that stunt with the superhero show had been totally done on purpose. Noire still had to figure out how to get revenge for that.

"The real problem here is this whole..." Noire bit her lip. What was the problem here? Besides for the issue of the marriage, had anything even really changed between her and Neptune for her to be getting so worked up over in the first place? Okay, so the marriage was going to be a pretty big thing, but it wasn't like anyone's feelings were involved with that...

Noire reached for a pillow and held it close at that thought.

She shouldn't think like that, should she?

But it was true, wasn't it?

Clutching the pillow to her chest, Noire sighed and rolled over again.

Whatever Neptune was feeling for Noire... Maybe it was better to just not question it. That way, Noire could pretend to herself that they really were going to be married because of how they felt about one another, instead of...

Noire rolled over once more as her thoughts reached the reason for the marriage taking place in the first place.

What kind of person pretended that they were in a lovey dovey marriage when the marriage was only happen because _lives_ were at stake? That was just manipulation, not to mention downright sick, plain and simple! She should be ashamed of herself just for thinking about doing something like that!

Letting out a long, wistful sigh, Noire rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling, raising an arm and reaching out towards it.

"Neptune..."

At that particular moment, Neptune found her party getting decimated by a particularly powerful boss she hadn't fully prepared for. Frustrated, the CPU tossed her controller to the side and flopped sideways onto the couch she had been sitting on. As she lay there, she couldn't help but recall the events of this morning — how she and Noire had been sitting here, only hours ago...

It wasn't that long ago she'd been entranced by the other CPU's face... Her lips in particular... And now, after the events of the day (or maybe not — maybe they had just helped her realize it), Neptune found herself entranced with the other CPU completely.

A scowl formed on Neptune's face. She had been trying to distract herself from these thoughts, not give in to them!

"I'd better get back to grinding..." Reaching for the controller she'd tossed aside, Neptune booted her game back up in the vain hope that she wouldn't wind up thinking about Noire again.

Unfortunately for Neptune, the mental image of Noire standing at the fountain was as fresh as it had been when she'd seen it with her own eyes, and every time it flashed through Neptune's mind, her heart stopped for just a moment, before she would quickly shake her head and go back to her game, cheeks burning brightly, to try to wipe those thoughts from her mind as soon as possible.

Needless to say, neither Neptune nor Noire got much sleep that night.


	13. Chapter 13

Ram scowled as she paced back and forth across her and Rom's room. Her small arms were crossed defiantly across her chest, and if there was a single word that could describe how she was feeling this morning, then it would most definitely be the word "NO!" — naturally yelled as loudly as she possibly could.

Rom watched her sister make what seemed like her hundredth turn before heading back towards the other side of the room, frowning worriedly. Their older sister had been in a bad mood for a few days now, and it seemed to little Rom like Ram was now taking up the role of the "normal" version of Blanc — a version which still often found herself in a bad mood.

"Ram...?" Rom swallowed nervously after calling her sister's name. She'd been ignored. She didn't like it when her sister was upset, and she liked it even less when her sister was upset but she wasn't. She didn't like disagreeing with Ram... At the same time, though, Rom looked to the articles of clothing Mina had given them first thing this morning and smiled a little. She thought they were pretty.

"It's not fair!" Finally speaking, the petite CPU Candidate made a ferocious declaration and pointed at her sister dramatically — no, she was pointing at the clothes that were on their bed.

"What's not...?" Rom bit her lip and looked away. She really didn't like seeing Ram like this!

"It's a wedding, right?" Recrossing her arms, Ram began tapping her foot, as if she was about to give a super obvious explanation that everyone should understand. In her mind, that was exactly what she was doing. "Then why do we have to wear these boring dresses? Sure, they're pretty and all, but I want to wear a wedding dress too! So it's not fair that only Nepgear and Uni's sisters get to do it!"

Unbeknownst to the twin Candidates, a certain Oracle had just pushed their door open to peek in on her favorite girls. She had, perhaps foolishly, told them to try on what they would be wearing for the wedding tomorrow. Whether she was hoping to catch them in the process of changing or just make sure that they were actually doing what they were supposed to be doing and not goofing off — or worse, ruining the expensive dresses — remained to be seen... but hopefully it was the latter.

"Well... Why don't we get married too someday...?" Her words apparently having an effect on Ram, Rom smiled slightly as she watched her sister slowly begin to think about the prospect. Smiles were much better than scowls and frowns.

Behind the door, Mina Nishizawa gasped and covered her mouth. Her Candidates, talking about marriage? But... But they were too young! They still needed help taking baths and even eating sometimes! And... And they were just so young! Their whole appeal was their sweet, childish innocence! How could this be...? Where had she gone wrong...!?

"- Okay! I've decided! I'm going to get married!" Ram puffed her chest out proudly. It wasn't like there were many eligible people in their age range, so Ram knew she had to move fast and make sure she called dibs before her sister could. That in mind, before Rom could make any move or comment before her (as if such a thing was possible — plus, Ram knew exactly who her sister would want to marry anyway, so it didn't really matter who Ram chose), Ram continued. "And _I'm_ going to marry Peashy!"

Rom tilted her head, opening her mouth in a small "o" while Ram made a victorious pose. Her sister sure was taking this seriously! And if Ram was, then... Then Rom would have to too!

She tapped her chin with a finger and began to think, long and hard, about who she'd want to marry. This... This was serious business, after all! She didn't want to make a mistake or anything like that. Ram had obviously put a lot of thought into her choice, so Rom owed it to Ram — and to whoever she would marry! — to do the same, didn't she?

And yet... A blush rose to Rom's cheeks as she settled on a certain someone. It had been obvious from the start, really. It had been the first person she'd thought of, but she'd wanted to be sure... But she _was_ sure!

Tapping her fingers together, Rom shyly looked over at her sister.

"T-Then... Can I... Can I marry Nepgear...?"

"- Ehhhhhhh!? _Nepgear_!?" Ram was stunned! She had been so sure that Rom would want to marry... Well, _her_! After all, wasn't _she_ the best possible candidate for the job? She'd be much better than _Nepgear_, that's for sure! Was it because she'd suggested Peashy first instead of Rom? Well... It didn't matter! Rom was supposed to want to marry her, not Nepgear! Stomping her foot, Ram crossed her arms. "H-Hmph! I don't care what you do, so long as you stay away from me and Peashy!"

"Rom...?" Rom frowned. She had thought really hard about who she'd wanted to marry too, but it looked as though that had only made Ram upset again. What had she done wrong? She knew Ram wouldn't want to choose Nepgear, so that made it okay for her to, right? She didn't understand what she'd done wrong. Lowering her head, despite fanciful and childish thoughts of dancing around in wedding dresses with Nepgear dancing around in her mind, Rom's lips quivered. "I... I'm sorry, Ram..."

"Ah, no, that's-" Ram waved her arms in front of her. She hadn't meant to upset Rom or anything like that! It was just... She and Rom were supposed to be together forever, right? ... Maybe picking Peashy instead of Rom had been a bad choice? Ram bit her lip as she tried to figure out this serious problem that had been placed in front of her.

"I can solve this!" To the surprise of the twins, a cheerful voice came bursting into the room from outside of the door. Surprised, Ram nearly toppled over, while Rom grabbed onto the nearest stuffed animal to defend herself. The pair had had bad experiences with people surprising them in their room.

There, standing at the door, was none other than their caretaker and Oracle, looking positively terrifying.

"If you girls don't try on those dresses this minute, you both will be married to me."

"Nooooooooooo!" "Noooo..."

""We don't want to marry Mina!""

After hearing their responses to the prospect of marrying her, Mina almost cried out "Noooooooooooooooo!" herself.

Almost.

* * *

An unusual trio of redheads had gathered at a small cafe nearby Planeptune's amusement park that morning. It wasn't particularly unusual that the three were meeting together — they were all friends, after all. What made it unusual was that two of the three seemed to always be traveling, while the third rarely ever left Leanbox.

"... so then, Lady Noire got up on stage and even posed like the rest of us had!" MarvelousAQL smiled to her two friends as she finished recounting the prior day's events to them. "Afterwards, it looked like Lady Noire and Lady Neptune were having a really good time with each other, even though Lady Noire was embarrassed. They were so cute!"

One of the other two, Cave, closed her eyes and nodded as she took a sip of her coffee. Due to the peace in Gamindustri that the world had been enjoying as of late, as well as a certain blue haired idol being on tour in Planeptune in the hopes of raising shares there (everyone doing their own part to help the ailing country's situation), Cave had found herself doing a bit more traveling that she was used to.

"In other words, despite how their situation would be considered unfavorable, things are progressing well between them."

"You've got it!" MarvelousAQL replied cheerfully, bouncing in her seat like the cheerful girl that she was. Cave simply nodded in response, while the last member of their group...

Well, the last member of the trio, a younger girl named RED, seemed to be much more fascinated by the two busty beauties she was eating with than the topic at hand. Her gaze traveled from the face of one beauty, to their chest, then to the face of the other girl, and so on. She couldn't help but grin to herself as she finally tore her gaze away to change the subject. How often did chances like this come up?

"Say, would either of you like to get married?" Unable to restrain herself any longer, RED put on her widest smile and fluttered her eyelashes at her two friends. Both of them knew about RED's desire to have as many wives as possible, but it had seemed like lately she'd let the matter drop. Apparently the subject of an actual wedding was the catalyst for old habits to rear their head once again.

"I don't know if ninjas can get married..." MarvelousAQL's response was surprisingly innocent. She placed a finger to her lips and turned her gaze upwards, clearly in deep thought about the matter.

"I imagine that if they couldn't, there wouldn't be any of them around," Cave commented, glad that she had been given the chance to avoid having to answer RED's question. While marrying _RED_ was obviously out of the question, she would be lying if she were to say that the thought had never crossed her mind regarding girls...

Cave lowered her gaze and coughed as the girl she had in mind rose to the front of her imagination.

How would 5pb. look in a wedding dress...?

"Whoa, Marvy, check it out! You have to squint to see it, but Cave is _blushing_!" Practically squealing in delight, RED motioned for her shinobi friend to look at the Leanbox soldier. It was just so unlike Cave, after all! Maybe she was seriously considering RED's offer...? Ohhhh yeah, wifey number one (or two, technically) get!

"D-Don't misunderstand-" Cave quickly took a swig of her coffee, hoping she could use the time it took her to drink it to contemplate a plan of action. She hadn't meant to be caught in such a situation, and now that she had, she had to do something about it before it escalated into something that might reach 5pb.'s hears. Placing her cup on the table, her expression almost completely stern, Cave gave RED a firm look. "I was wondering what ninjas might resort to in order to further procreate if they truly could not get married. That is all."

The comment — with such big words! — combined with her completely straight face seemed to do the trick. MarvelousAQL had missed the blush completely, and RED had absolutely no idea what Cave had just said. The two girls exchanged glances and shrugged at each other, allowing Cave a moment to sigh inwardly in relief. That had been close.

"Well, I've gotta go..." RED lifted her cup to her lips, leaving it there for a long moment, before slamming it down — now empty — on the table and wiping her lips with the back of her hand. "I'm meeting NISA and Gust for dinner, and if I'm gonna get one of them to propose to me within a month, I've gotta find something to wear. See you, girls!"

The two remaining redheads watched their friend go in amusement. She never really did give up, did she? Maybe that brief period where they had stopped hearing about becoming RED's wife had just meant that RED had moved on to another target in the meanwhile... Cave shook her head and closed her eyes. She wondered if she could ever be so open about her feelings.

"So... You were thinking about 5pb., right?"

Cave snapped her eyes open and found herself looking at MarvelousAQL, who was staring back at her with a very knowing expression. W... Wasn't Marvy supposed to be ditzy!?

MarvelousAQL smiled as she watched Cave try to find a response.

"Don't worry, nobody else knows. But you can't fool me. Information gathering is my specialty, even if I don't always know what to do with it," MarvelousAQL continued to smile as she stood, before she walked over to the trash can to throw away her empty cup. She made her way back to the table, bouncing all the way, and instead of sitting back down, stood in front of Cave — her mind elsewhere as she gingerly touched the two swords she kept at her sides at all times. "If you have something special, go for it. Don't let yourself lose it and be filled with regrets after it's too late... Even if you get turned out, there's nothing worse than never knowing."

With that, the ninja named MarvelousAQL turned and left the cafe, leaving a stunned Cave in her wake. The ninja had clearly had something on her mind, something Cave couldn't even possibly fathom, but as to what it was... She didn't think she would ever know. Despite how the girl was sometimes, MarvelousAQL could be surprisingly mysterious at other times.

Cave licked her lips nervously.

"'Go for it,' huh?"

As she pictured a certain blue haired singer, she decided... Maybe one of these days she'd do just that.


	14. Chapter 14

IF had been suspicious about Nepgear's whereabouts for over a week before the announcement that Planeptune and Lastation would be merging. At first, she didn't think anything of it — taking a few days off wouldn't have been shocking given how hard the two Planeptune sisters had been working. IF was frankly more surprised that Neptune hadn't taken a break yet. Given how long IF had known the two girls, seeing them working themselves like this was just... strange.

Her suspicions had been confirmed a few days ago when Black Heart had made an announcement to Gamindustri and Histoire had followed it up by calling Neptune and Nepgear's closest friends to explain the situation to them.

For the longest time, IF had been feeling guilty about this. She had been watching two of her best friends work themselves to the bone, and yet...

She had been born in Leanbox.

She had grown up in Leanbox.

Even now, with poor Nepgear in a coma, with Neptune's life on the line... Even with all of that...!

She worshiped Green Heart.

She couldn't help it. It was a part of who she was. It was a part of her identity — not to mention that the idea of worshiping _Neptune_ of all people was just... strange to her. Neptune was her friend. But it was because Neptune was her friend that IF now found herself feeling so horrible. No matter how badly she wanted to do it, even if the mere idea that just one person's beliefs could change something in this dire situation was ludicrous, IF still couldn't help but feel conflicted — not to mention guilty.

So to make up for what IF felt was a complete and utter betrayal of her friend, she had been taking as many quests as she could, all in Planeptune's name. If she couldn't raise shares through her own beliefs, then she could do it the old fashioned way.

But even IF had her limits, and IF was no goddess. Even if she was being fueled by her guilt, foolish as she knew it was, there was a point when she knew she'd have to stop working and let her body recover.

But as long as Nepgear wasn't awake... But as long as she wasn't able to smile...!

IF swore to herself that she wouldn't rest. She didn't care that things were out of her hands now — that in just a few days, Neptune and Noire would be married and both Planeptune sisters would be on the road to recovery. That didn't help them right now, did it?

And it didn't help her feel like she hadn't betrayed them any less.

This was IF's mindset as she made her way to the Guild for what seemed like the millionth time, ready to accept the millionth quest, and do whatever she could. Shares were quite literally the life of her friends — meaning the more shares she could bring in, the better off they were. If a single quest was just a single drop of liquid in the glass of medicine that needed to be filled for her friends, then she'd do quests until that glass could be filled ten times over if she had to!

Unfortunately for IF, the phrase "mind over matter" didn't always succeed, and this case would be no exception to that. She had been going for days without sleep on her guilt-fueled quest, rarely stopping to eat or drink, and her body was tired. Her muscles ached, and her vision was starting to blur — but whenever she closed her eyes, the only thing she could see were Neptune and Nepgear, trapped in that horrible Graveyard...

She couldn't let them down! She couldn't let them end up like that again! She couldn't, she just couldn't...!

She just... couldn't...

"Iffy!"

The last thing IF heard before she collapsed onto the sidewalk was the voice of a certain nurse rushing to her side. After that, there was only darkness.

* * *

"She's been doing quests this whole time?"

After finishing their breakfast the next morning, Neptune and Noire had finally gotten a game going (yes, together) when they'd gotten the call from Compa. Apparently, IF had collapsed in the middle of the street, and since the Basilicom was the closest place to bring her to recover, Compa was rushing over with her. Now, roughly ten minutes later, IF was sound asleep in one of the Basilicom's guest rooms, with Compa explaining the brunette's state of affairs to the two CPUs.

"She's felt so guilty, Nep-Nep..." Wiping her eyes, Compa sniffled. She had thought the worst when she'd seen IF collapse — especially considering how close to the street she had been! A car could have hit her and that would have been the end of her! "And you know how she gets when she wants to do something. She doesn't give up on it, no matter what."

"That's Iffy for you alright..." Neptune smiled, feeling both guilty and genuinely touched by how hard her friend had been working for her and Nepgear's sakes. Noire wasn't the only person she owed a lot to — when she was back in tip top shape, she was going to make it up to everybody who worked their butts off for her and Nepgear. She swore it. "But she'll be okay, right? Just has to rest up and recharge her battieries and all, doesn't she?"

"That's right," offering a smile of her own, Compa nodded at the CPU, before turning back to the sleeping form of IF and giving her hand a loving squeeze — something that did not go unnoticed by Neptune and Noire. "Iffy is strong, but I'm gonna make sure she comes back from this twice as strong so it never happens again!"

"You tell 'em, Compa!" Neptune cheered her friend on, pumping a fist into the air. It was during times like this that one needed to be positive, after all — and, as Noire watched the two start to talk about old times together, she couldn't help but think to herself one thing:

IF wasn't a CPU.

IF could recover from this just fine if she allowed herself the proper time to rest and gave herself the proper treatment. The same could not be said for a CPU without shares — you couldn't just go to sleep or eat and expect the shares to come back. If they were gone and they weren't rising through your work, then they were just... gone.

Noire clenched her fists, clutching the sides of her skirt, and grit her teeth.

She couldn't allow feelings to blind her, no matter how much these past few encounters with Neptune had made her want to. Neptune... Neptune was Neptune. Clueless, clumsy, lazy Neptune. Noire had never expected anything in return from her — and to be quite frank, a lot of the time, Neptune could be so frustrating that Noire sometimes questioned if she even wanted anything from her.

But now she was getting it. She was marrying Neptune, but at the same time, perhaps because fate was just cruel like that, it had absolutely nothing to do with either of their feelings — and what if Noire were to bring them up? What would Neptune think of her then? That she had offered to marry Neptune just to guilt-trip her into returning Noire's feelings? That she had offered to marry Neptune to take advantage of her, knowing Neptune would be indebted to Noire after saving Nepgear's life?

There was no way it could work out between them now. That near-kiss in the bedroom... Everything that had happened yesterday... Whatever was happening, it had definitely been a fluke, of that Noire was positive.

Her chest was heavy. Her eyes were starting to burn with the familiar sensation of incoming tears. Realizing she had just, all on her own, crushed all the hopes and desires and dreams that had been sneaking their way into her heart over the past few days, Noire knew she needed an escape. She couldn't be seen like this.

"I- I'm going to go find Uni. Excuse me," Noire hurriedly left the room without waiting for a response, hiding her face with her hands, leaving Neptune and Compa to watch her go in confusion. Had they said something wrong? Had they offended the Lastation CPU somehow? Or was something wrong with her...?

With Noire gone, Neptune dropped her head to her chest and let out a loud groan, before reaching both hands to her head and running them frantically through her hair.

"Nep-Nep...?"

"Aaaargh! Compa, this sucks!" Stomping her foot, Neptune crossed her arms — taking on a very Noire-like pose. "I should be happy, right? I mean, Nepgear's gonna be okay, Planeptune's gonna be okay, and _I'm_ gonna be okay, but... But this whole thing with Noire has got me all... I don't even know! It's like all the items in my inventory don't have descriptions anymore and they expect me to remember what they all do!"

"I... think it would be hard to be happy, given everything it took getting here, Nep-Nep," Compa started gently. Truthfully, though, she was rather interested in that last bit Neptune had said. It was almost as unlike Neptune to be flustered and confused (well, maybe more flustered — confusion was normal enough for Neptune) as it was for her to be working. ... Though given how often she'd been working lately, that was probably a bad analogy... "What thing with Noire? You mean the marriage?"

Neptune nodded furiously.

"Yeah, that!" Neptune sat herself down in a chair next to IF's bed and began to recount to Compa everything that had happened since she had found out that she was going to be marrying Noire — the incident in the bed, teasing her about who was player one and who was player two, how all thoughts somehow kept leading back to Noire, the... thing that totally hadn't been a date, and most importantly, how confused she'd been feeling about it all.

"I don't know, Nep-Nep..." Compa tilted her head thoughtfully, looking at Neptune with... pity in her eyes? Did she know something Neptune didn't? "But if I had to make a guess... Well, a nurse's diagnosis, I mean..."

"... Stupid... Hold on a minute. I'll tell her what it means..."

"Iffy-!?" Compa and Neptune both sprung up at the sound of a voice they were sure they wouldn't be hearing for at least another few hours, if not longer. Rushing to IF's side, Compa tried to push her down onto the bed. "Iffy, stop, you need your rest, you shouldn't be getting up yet-"

"Oh, please, like I could rest with Neppy here having a crisis like this," IF rolled her eyes and shrugged Compa's arms off of her — but as soon as she did, she looked Compa firmly in the eyes and spoke softly, in a voice that Neptune had rarely heard the girl use before. It must have been a tone reserved just for Compa. "I'll go back to sleep in a minute. Just let me have my say, okay?"

"... Okay, but after this, you go right back to bed, okay missy?" In a valiant attempt to look like the tough doctor who wouldn't stand for her rules being broken, Compa put her hands on her hips and put on the fiercest expression she could muster. In Compa's mind, it was an expression that was surely enough to shake down even the Deity of Sin!

... Needless to say, when IF just smiled in response, it could only be expected.

"Roger, roger..." Shaking her head, IF winked at the nurse, who was looking positively astonished that IF hadn't faltered from her fierce mental attack, before turning to Neptune. "And as for _you_..."

Oh boy... Here comes one of Iffy's lectures...

IF lowered her head.

"I guess Compa already told what I've been doing these past few weeks, so I'm really in no place to tell you off for being stupid, but I'm still your friend, Neptune," IF's voice was soft. She wasn't sure whether she should smile or frown. No matter what happened in the future, she wasn't sure if she'd ever be able to let go of the guilt she felt for how things had turned, no matter how much she told herself it wasn't her fault.

But that was that, and this situation with Neptune and Noire was something else entirely.

"And as your friend, I'm not gonna sit by and let you flail around like a poor, helpless Dogoo that some Ancient Dragon stepped on and made flat!" IF added, pushing aside her own feelings and putting Neptune's at the forefront of her thoughts.

Torn between laughing and shuddering at the analogy, Neptune tried to follow IF's train of thought.

"Am I really flailing around, Iffy?"

"You bet your little tush you are!" It was obvious to IF what was going on here, even if Neptune herself couldn't figure it out. Compa stepped forward, putting her hand on IF's shoulder, which immediately sagged. "I know, I know. Don't overwork myself, right?"

"You've got it," came Compa's cheery response. Somehow, if IF could just get enough of that voice, she felt like she'd feel better in no time... Not that said voice's owner would appreciate IF skipping out on rest to listen to her.

"... Well, you heard the lady," IF sighed. "I guess that means I'm gonna have to just do this the hard way."

"The hard way?" IF had never made things easy before, if she was going out of her way to make it harder for Neptune, then the CPU wasn't sure if she'd be able to take it! Oh, how she wished that this was the IF she had helped raise from diapers right now — at least then she would have some firepower to help ease the burn.

"Yep. The hard way," IF cracked her knuckles and rolled neck, giving Neptune her own look of ferocity... Though unlike with Compa and herself, Neptune had the decency to cower in fear. Good for her. "I'm going to be blunt with you. I'm going to tell you what's wrong and you're going to go and do something about it. Are we clear?"

IF paused, looking at Compa for a brief moment, a look Compa returned with a knowing one of her own, before continuing.

"... And you're going to trust me, because I happen to know exactly what I'm talking about."

"Yes ma'am!" Neptune offered IF a mock salute, hoping to diffuse the situation somewhat by acting like her usual, goofy self. This, however, only made IF chuckle. Neptune _really_ didn't like where this was going... And yet, she had a sneaking suspicion...

And then it came. Exactly what Neptune had been hoping for, worrying about, and fearing all at once.

"You, Neptune..." Had IF been standing up, Neptune was positive that a dramatic gust of wind would have been blowing behind her right about now. In fact, if Neptune didn't know better, those bedsheets might have been rustling — if only a little bit. "... are falling for the CPU of Lastation!"

Compa clapped her hands together, making an "I knew it!" pose and appearing very proud of herself.

Neptune, on the other hand, burst out laughing.

IF and Compa watched the girl, waiting for her to stop, but Neptune kept forcing the laughter — her mind was reeling. It wasn't that Neptune was entirely shocked by this revelation — after all, she herself had been thinking about the same possibility for a while now, more or less. Deep down, she almost felt like she'd figured it out for sure when she'd watched Noire make her wish at the fountain, but... But to have someone else just throw your feelings in your face like that?

Neptune needed some time to recover! She needed to... She needed to deny this! Her innocent little heart wasn't ready!

"_Me_? Falling for _Noire_?" Neptune finally managed to speak after she had caught her breath. Waving her hand at IF dismissively, Neptune shook her head back and forth. She continued, but she knew better than anyone that even she didn't believe the words coming out of her mouth anymore. "You must be out of your mind, IF! Who would ever love that friendless sourpuss? Come on!"

"Compa thinks the lady does protest too much," Compa remarked, that knowing smile on her face growing wider and wider. Beads of sweat began to roll down the back of Neptune's neck, but she wouldn't give in there.

"That's 'doth,' Compa..." IF shook her head before turning back to Neptune. "Okay, tell me I'm wrong after everything you told Compa. And I do mean _everything_."

Neptune gulped.

"Tell me I'm wrong after you couldn't stop ogling her."

Neptune gulped down a laugh.

"Tell me I'm wrong after you almost kissed her."

Neptune gulped down a chuckle.

"Tell me I'm wrong after you kept staring at her lips."

Neptune gulped down a guffaw.

"Tell me I'm wrong after you couldn't stop thinking about what she might be working on."

Neptune gulped down a gasp.

"Tell me I'm wrong after how you were staring at her at that fountain."

Neptune gulped down a breath.

"Tell me I'm wrong after you couldn't stop thinking about what she'd look like in cosplay."

Neptune gulped down a gulp.

"Tell me I'm wrong after that date — yes, after how you described it, it was totally a date — that you two had yesterday."

Neptune was out of things to gulp down.

"And lastly, tell me I'm wrong after you couldn't stop thinking about what she might be _eating_ for goodness sakes!"

"Stooooop! I give, I give!" Defeated, Neptune fell to the ground and hung her head, her cheeks burning too much for her to stand it. She couldn't deny a single thing IF was accusing her of any longer, much as she really, really wanted to... Or did she? Honestly, how many times had she thought to herself "this wouldn't be so bad" the day before...? "... Okay, okay... I give."

"There. Was that so hard?" IF paused, considering her words. Now she had to appeal to her thick friend, and everything would fall perfectly into place. "And does it really feel like it would be such a bad thing? Think about it for a minute."

"... No..." It looked like Neptune was pouting — more because she'd been proven wrong than anything, but at least she seemed to be taking it well. The more she sat and thought about it, though... Would it really be a bad thing at all?

This was Noire she was talking about. Noire, the sourpuss who worked herself late into the night with no regard for her own health... and she'd always do a great job. Noire, the cosplayer who would always get ridiculously flustered whenever she was caught in the act... and she'd always look cute no matter what she wore. Noire, the loser who would have so many more friends if she'd just lower her guard once in a while.

... Noire, the CPU who was willing to risk her entire nation just for Neptune's sake. Noire, the girl who had known just what Neptune needed to hear when she had been at her weakest. Noire, the young woman that Neptune couldn't help but admit was a stone cold fox. Noire, the doofus that Neptune absolutely loved to get a rise out of. Noire, the fiend who knew just where Neptune was ticklish. Noire, the woman who Neptune was realizing more and more was someone that she wouldn't mind being stuck to for the rest of her life, however long or short that may be.

"... How can I be sure about this? This is so... sudden. I don't wanna screw it up, y'know?" Neptune paused, as she allowed a thought that had been bothering her for quite a bit escape her lips. "What if I'm not good enough for her?"

IF smiled. Thattagirl.

"That's easy. You go and find her, and then you figure it out from there," IF pointed at the door and made motions for Neptune to leave. Hesitantly, nervously, Neptune got up. This was a pretty big thing that she was about to do after all! Couldn't she just play some games instead?

"Do I have to?" Neptune offered IF the most sheepish "mom I know I'm not sick but can I stay home from school anyway?" smile she could manage. It wasn't like she was on a time limit or anything!

"NOW!" Yelping, Neptune waved at Compa and made for the door. Her job finished, IF's smile dropped, and under her breath, whispered to herself: "And maybe someday you'll be able to forgive me for everything I've done and not done."

Neptune had already turned to go, and upon seeing that, IF closed her eyes and laid back down, preparing to fall back into a nice, peaceful sleep. The door closed, and IF let out a sigh. At least now she could relax, knowing Neptune would be in Noire's capable hands, since clearly hers could only do more harm than good...

The door opened again, but IF paid it no mind. Compa was probably heading out, now that IF was falling back to sleep.

"N-Nep-Nep!? What are you doing!? That's too much for you right now!" Compa's cry was enough to have IF sit back up-

-only for her to find herself face first in someone's... wait... were these...? Warm... Soft... Large, but not Compa sized...!

IF found herself buried in the chest of none other than the CPU of Planeptune herself, transformed in all her HDD glory. Neptune, now Purple Heart, wrapped her arms around IF and pulled her close, resting her head atop her friend's, and spoke quietly — transforming put a great strain on Neptune right now, but this, she knew, was worth much more than her own personal safety. The risk was more than worth it.

"I may not always show it, IF, but I have never once regretted knowing you. You are a precious, precious friend to me, and don't you ever think for a moment that you have betrayed me, or Nepgear, because feeling that way is in itself is the only way you could ever possibly do us wrong."

Slowly, with a gentle, compassionate expression on her face, Purple Heart gently lowered IF back down onto the bed. IF had no idea how to react to this — she was touched, for sure, but... But that didn't mean she could just let go of her guilt just like that, could it...?

Purple Heart placed a light kiss on IF's forehead and stepped away. Despite how weak she looked compared to her glory days, IF could tell — even if Purple Heart were to be struck right now and fall over and die, she would have no regrets.

For a moment, IF saw exactly what the truly loyal people of Planeptune did in their beloved goddess.

"... J-Jeez! How am I supposed to say anything to you when you're in that form?" IF's eyes were tearing up. Rubbing frantically at them, she pointed at the door, clearly flustered. "Hurry up and get out of here! And transform back before you run out of energy and _you_ end up stuck in bed!"

Smiling, with just a hint of her old arrogance returning to her features, Purple Heart nodded.

"Don't you worry about me. I won't fall so easily."

With that, Purple Heart gracefully stepped out of the room, the door slamming shut after her. For a few moments, IF and Compa sat in silence — as if they were waiting to make sure Neptune wasn't going to come back in as herself and ruin the moment. A few moments more passed, and the two exchanged a look before, for no reason in particular, bursting into laughter.

Outside the door, Neptune — now in her normal form — stood up straight, after having had her ear pressed to the door, waiting to make sure the two in the room were okay, before heading off into the Basilicom's depths.

She had a Noire to find!


	15. Chapter 15

Although Noire had claimed that she had been going to find her sister, the truth of the matter was that she had no intentions of doing anything of the sort. After seeing how badly Uni had wanted to be by Nepgear's side, Noire knew she had no right to interrupt any time her sister was spending with Neptune's, regardless of whether or not Nepgear herself was conscious enough to be aware of it.

This left Noire in quite a pickle. She couldn't leave Planeptune without Uni, or at least not without telling her, but she was in desperate need of some kind of an escape from this situation. She couldn't let herself be found by Neptune or any of the others right now.

It helped that Planeptune's Basilicom didn't have many people working these days, and the ones that were didn't seem to be paying much attention to Noire, but all that meant was that she wouldn't be followed — she still didn't have a plan as far as where to go.

Ultimately, still feeling the sting of tears in her eyes, Noire realized that it didn't matter where she went, so long as it was somewhere she could be alone. She began walking in a random direction, down the emptiest corridor she could find, and let her legs carry her wherever they may.

She hadn't realized until she had seen IF how painful this was going to be, but now... It was all rushing at her, as if a thousand stampeding Fenrirs had all chosen her as their desired meal.

She would never be able to tell Neptune how she felt about her. In fact, it would probably wrong to even let slip any hints of how Noire felt about the other CPU. With Neptune now owing her life to Noire, there would forever be a barrier between the two — of this, Noire was sure. If Noire were to ever bring up how she felt to Neptune...

Maybe before she could have. Neptune might have teased her for it, but she wouldn't have done anything needlessly cruel. It might have hurt, to be rejected, but that certainly must be better than being trapped in the cage Noire found herself in now, right?

A lump formed in Noire's thoat as she continued her walk throughout the Basilicom. Wiping at the stream of tears, the CPU clenched her fists. She was angry with herself as well — angry for being so weak. Angry for letting herself get her hopes up, for letting herself get caught up in fantasy for these past few days. Angry that she had been brought to tears by all of this, angry at just about everything right now.

Reality and fantasy were so very different, weren't they? She should have realized that immediately during their escapades the day previously, but...

She would watch anime with Neptune, but Neptune would never sit in her lap. She would play games with Neptune, but Neptune would never pretend to lose just to make Noire happy. She might drag Neptune into cosplay with her, but they would never get to cosplay as a pair of characters that were a couple. She would sing karaoke with Neptune, but she would never get to sing all the cheesy love songs she wanted to sing her.

She would move in with Neptune, but they would never share a bed. She would be promised to Neptune for life, but keep her feelings hidden from her until the day she died. She would see Neptune every day, but never be able to share the day with her like a real partner. She would interact with Neptune constantly, but she would never be able to touch her the way she wanted to.

She would give Neptune her entire nation, but she would never be able to give her her heart.

She would be married to Neptune, but she would never be able to love her.

Noire clutched her chest. It was as if a black hole had appeared in her there, and was sucking up everything inside of her, draining her of everything and leaving nothing but a hard, heavy feeling in its wake. She couldn't stand this, she couldn't!

Someday Neptune might actually fall in love with someone. It certainly wouldn't be Noire. Then what? Noire didn't know what to think of that prospect.

Maybe Noire would be the one to die when that time came.

"I'm so pathetic..." Noire muttered to herself, wiping away the last of her tears and stopping in her tracks. She was Lastation's CPU for crying out loud! This was no time to be thinking like this! Noire slapped her cheeks and shook her head furiously. "Snap out of it, Noire! Your feelings are irrelevant. As long as Neptune is alive, that's what matters."

That's right... As long as Neptune is alive, everything will be okay.

Not quite believing this, Noire scanned the area with bloodshot eyes, trying to figure out where she had ended up — and she smiled. The irony of where she was now was not lost on her.

She was outside Neptune's bedroom.

Noire knew, of course, that Neptune would be nowhere near this room right now. She was with her friends. Right now, this room was empty.

Though she hated to admit it, she'd gotten very little sleep the night before... The truth was, her thoughts — her feelings — just wouldn't let her rest. Maybe now, she could...?

Peering down the hallway, as if she were about to commit a crime, Noire made sure no one was around. Satisfied, the CPU gently pushed open the door that she had found herself in front of, without any idea what she planned to do once inside.

* * *

It had taken some time, but once Uni had finished crying, she actually found herself feeling a little better — at least, enough so that she could try talking to Nepgear again. The poor girl was probably lonely, wasn't she? Having to lie here in bed, day in and day out, doing nothing but sleeping... What if she just wanted someone to talk to her?

At first it had been easy. Uni told Nepgear about everything that she had been working on, about her fierce battle with Rom and Ram, about the types of software she wanted to develop in the future... But after a while, that just made her feel even worse, because it reminded her of how badly she had been ignoring Nepgear until now.

While her sister had left the Basilicom with Neptune for the day, other than to get something to eat, Uni had loyally stayed with Nepgear the entire time. While her sister had gone to a guest room to bed, Uni had opted to sleep in a chair at Nepgear's side.

After Noire had brought Uni breakfast, Uni had gotten to thinking. What she had been doing wasn't working — if anything would work at all. So why not try something different?

So today, Uni decided that she would try a different tactic. She tried saying whatever came into her head, and that worked for a little while too, but soon that just led Uni back to guilt and apologies. Pondering what to do next, Uni wondered if maybe — just maybe — she could shock Nepgear awake, which led to...

"You know... I've never told you this, but..."

A pause.

"I... I've always thought you were really pretty!"

Still alone with the sleeping form of Nepgear, Uni scrunched her eyes shut; her face was bright red and her hands were balled into little fists. She waited, silently, as if expecting the compliment would be what would awaken Nepgear from her lengthy slumber. Hesitantly, Uni peeked open an eye and looked in Nepgear's direction.

No response.

Uni's shoulders slumped and the girl dropped her head, letting out a long, wistful sigh. She was sure that Nepgear was still in there, and maybe- Maybe if she said some totally outrageous things, it would snap Nepgear out of her coma and she'd wake up, completely flustered, but glad to be awake!

Uni took a deep breath, her face getting redder still and her eyes still closed tightly, and let loose the first totally outrageous thing she could think of.

"A-And, um... I-I've always liked looking at your b-breasts!"

... Well, waking up Nepgear had been her original intention, anyway. At this point, Uni was probably just taking advantage of the fact that she could say whatever she wanted to Nepgear and no one could stop her or embarrass her for it.

"A-And I've always wanted to... to... t-touch them too!"

Uni bit her lip. Her face was probably so hot that if Uni touched it, she'd get a burn.

Total silence.

Okay Uni... One more try...! Time for the pièce de résistance!

"N-Nepgear... I've always wanted to tell you, but I... I was t-too shy..."

It was now or never, Uni!

"I think you have the best butt in all of Gamindustri!"

"Awww, shucks, you think so too?"

The scream that Uni let loose as she spun around, falling out of her seat in the process, was probably heard across the entirety of Planeptune, if not all the way to Lastation.

There stood none other than Neptune, standing behind where Uni had been seated only moments ago- Though "stood" might be a bit much, considering the CPU was laughing so hard at Uni that she could barely keep herself standing.

"S-Stop laughing at me!" the CPU Candidate of Lastation cried out as she got to her feet. She wasn't sure whether she was shaking in embarrassment or in rage, but it probably didn't matter — what did matter was that the worst possible person had caught her in the worst possible position doing the worst possible thing she could have been doing. "H-How much did you see? When did you get here?"

"Umm, not much..." Neptune did her best to look innocent, before she tapped herself on her head and stuck her tongue out. Uni gulped. "And I got here riiiight around 'I've always thought you were really pretty!'... more or less?"

"Noooooooo!" Uni covered her face with her hands. She couldn't face Neptune right now, she just couldn't! How was she supposed to live this down!? What could Neptune possibly think of her? Coming in here, alone with her comatose sister, only to... to say all of these things! "I-It's not what you think!"

"Oh? Then what is it?" Uni instantly regretted speaking. Neptune began slowly advancing on her, fingers wiggling provocatively. "If you weren't talking about Nep Jr.'s butt... Did you know I was here? Were you talking about _my_ butt? Could it be...?! Are you trying to steal me away from your sister before we're even married?!"

"S-Stop iiiiit!" Uni covered her ears, and even they had turned a bright red at this point, which only earned her more laughter out of Neptune. Uni's eyes watering and lips trembling, Neptune finally seemed to have calmed down — at least, Uni hoped so. She dropped her hands to her sides and crossed them. "A-Anyway, just so we're clear, I do _not_ think _anything_ about _your_ butt. Okay?"

"Okay! Sorry, sorry, I just couldn't help it..." Still laughing a little, Neptune scratched the back of her head, grinning jovially. Being fun to tease must have been in this family's blood, Neptune decided. "I'm surprised though. What would you have done if Nepgear had woken up, hearing all that? That's a pretty bold move!"

"T-That's..." What was Uni supposed to say? That had she _wanted_ Nepgear to wake up and hear Uni talking about groping her? It might have made some fragment of sense originally, but there was no way Uni could get herself to let the words leave her mouth now. "A-Anyway! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with my sister or something?"

"Oh, right," Neptune held a finger up like she'd just remembered something important, when in reality that had been the entire reason she'd come here in the first place. "Is Noire still here? I really want to talk to her. She said she was coming to find you, and I figured you'd still be with little Nepgear here, so..."

"Here...?" Uni tilted her head. That was the first she was hearing about this. Shaking her head "no," Uni dropped her arms, then crossed them again, glad to have a real change of subject from her earlier... declarations. "Noire hasn't been by here since she brought me something to eat this morning. Shouldn't she be with you?"

Hearing that made something rise in Neptune's chest, but she paid it no mind. If Noire wasn't here, where was she?

"Well, she's not with me now, is she?" Neptune told Uni, who shrugged in response. It was clear Uni didn't have a clue where Noire was, which was both a relief (Neptune was nervous!) and a disappointment (Neptune wanted to talk to her!). "I guess I'll go look for her. You be good, okay?"

Taking a deliberately slow, short step towards the door, Neptune paused. She glanced back at Uni, who was looking at her suspisciously.

"W-What is it? Weren't you going to find my sister...?"

"Oh, it's just..." Neptune took a step back towards Uni, her expression deadly serious — or at least as serious a person like Neptune could make their face. "I just wanted to know if my sister would still have her purity when she-"

"G-G-G-GET OOOOOUUUUT!"

Laughing maniacally, Neptune dashed for the door before Uni could throw something at her. She knew Uni wouldn't harm a single hair on Nepgear's head, but the timing had just been so _perfect_!

Panting, Uni stared at the door Neptune had exited from defiantly, as if she daring someone else to come in. Letting out a long "whoosh" of air when no one came, the girl turned back to Nepgear and frowned.

Even with all that commotion, she hadn't even so much as flinched.

"Just you wait, Nepgear... You'll be better soon. I promise."


	16. Chapter 16

If Noire wasn't with Uni, then that meant that Neptune was officially back to square one. She didn't even know if the Lastation CPU was even still in the Basilicom.

Neptune supposed she could always wait around outside Nepgear's room until Noire eventually came for her sister, but... Grinning to herself, Neptune decided against that immediately. She'd probably just end up ruining Uni for marriage if she stayed there any longer, and Noire would definitely not appreciate that.

"Maybe I should just start calling her name down every hallway I pass?" Neptune mused to herself, arms crossed behind her head as she made her way through the Basilicom. She wasn't exactly rushing to find Noire — in fact, all this extra time was helping her muster up her courage for what she was planning to do. "Nah... That'd give her warning. I wanna surprise her!"

With that decided, Neptune began walking. She checked just about everywhere she could think that a guest would go, and then she even went to places like the library and her own office, just in case Noire's "work" switch had gotten turned on, but to no avail. Noire was nowhere to be found in any of the usual spots.

Neptune wasn't sure what had drawn her to her own bedroom of all places, but as she got closer and closer to it, she noticed that her door was ajar. That wasn't totally unusual in the old days — someone working, or maybe Nepgear, might have gone in. But now? Barely anyone worked, Nepgear was still recovering, and Histoire couldn't open doors without help most of the time.

Which meant that only one black haired option remained.

Now that the moment of truth was upon her, Neptune's mind began racing. How was she going to do it? Would she kick the door all the way in and just yell her feelings out for Noire to hear? Would she sneak up on Noire and whisper them into the other girl's ear? Or maybe she'd say she was in love with Uni or something, just to get a reaction, then make a big show of revealing that it was actually Noire who she was-

Neptune flushed, grinning to herself but at the same time not letting herself finish that thought. She was still getting used to this!

Walking on tiptoes, Neptune slowly but surely began creeping up to the slightly open bedroom door, a nervous grin flitting across her features. She was scared, but she was excited too. If she got rejected, so what? Couldn't be as bad as when Nepgear fell unconscious or being stuck in the Gamindustri Graveyard for three years. At least it would be out in the open — and the sooner Neptune got it out there, even if Noire didn't feel the same, then the sooner it meant she could start trying to woo her future wifey!

Assuming, a little voice added, any wooing will be necessary at all.

Feeling positively impish, Neptune gently pushed her door open enough so she could peek inside.

At first, she didn't see anything out of the ordinary. It was just her bedroom, with her way-too-big bed, her big TV, her big... everything. It took her a moment to catch notice of the barest of movements on the bed, like someone was breathing very softly- Aha! There she was! There was Noire!

Very slowly, Neptune began walking into the room on tiptoes, doing her best to be silent. She was a hunter and Noire was her prey — oh, that was kinda naughty, wasn't it? Her face flushing, Neptune's eyes sparkled mischievously as she approached the unsuspecting form of Noire, and as Neptune prepared to pounce...!

"... Awww, she's asleep," Neptune dropped her arms — what had she been planning to do anyway? — and let out a loud sigh. There on the bed was indeed Noire, fast asleep and gently hugging one of Neptune's pillows no less. This put Neptune in quite the awkward position. Should she wake Noire up, or leave and let her sleep?

... Or what about...

Grinning, Neptune raised her hand as if she were on a game show, whispering to herself.

"Lady Purple Heart picks the super mysterious door number three!"

* * *

Noire wasn't sure where she was as she slowly began the process of waking up. She had been having the most pleasant dream, though she couldn't remember now what it had been about at all. She could tell right away she wasn't in her own bed, of that much she was certain, but... She felt so comfortable that she didn't really mind not knowing where she was. And if she had to wake up, she'd have to hurt more. She wanted to stay like this.

The Lastation CPU vaguelly remembered that before falling asleep, she had assaulted a pillow and cried her eyes out against it... That's right, she was in Neptune's room, wasn't she? Still too tired to be embarrassed about the fact, she pulled the pillow closer, inhaling Neptune's scent. It was stronger than Noire had remembered it being when she had fallen asleep, but she didn't mind that.

A sigh escaped her lips as she pressed against the pillow, which Noire was starting to realize, now that she was waking up, was surprisingly warm and hairy and...

"Mmmm... Not so rough..."

Noire's eyes shot open.

The soft fuzzy pillow she remembered had been replaced by a head of hair. As Noire's gaze trailed downwards, it appeared that head of hair was attached to a face, with two wide eyes, a nose, and a mouth, and this face was attached to a body — a very familiar body at that, and a body that Noire was holding onto like a child would a teddy bear. What was worse, the body was snuggled right back into Noire!

"Hehe. Finally awake?"

Still in her post-awakening daze, Noire had completely glossed over the now horrifying fact that the eyes of the person she was holding onto were staring right at her.

"N-N-N-N-Neptune!?"

Was she still dreaming? She had to be, right? There was no way that she would ever wake up to Neptune cuddling into her like this. Not even in her wildest dreams (well, maybe in her wildest dreams) would something like this be possible!

Just to check, Noire bit the inside of her mouth — wincing at the immediate sensation of pain. She was definitely awake.

Meanwhile, acting as though this was nothing out of the ordinary, Neptune simply pulled Noire closer to her and nuzzled into Noire's neck — much to Noire's... actually, Noire still didn't know what was going on in her head right now, but she was pretty sure she was liking it? Maybe? How did this even happen!?

"Y'know, I think I'm gonna have to make Nepgear wear longer skirts once she wakes up."

"H-Huh?" Noire found it hard to focus on Neptune's words, and it wasn't because of being tired — she was wide awake now. It was because she could feel Neptune's breath against her body, her lips forming a smile against Noire's skin. It was such a strange sensation, feeling a smile rather than seeing it, but... "W-Why?"

"Oh, no reason. Just something your sister said."

"Uh... huh..." Noire might have inquired further under normal circumstances, but seeing as these were about as far from normal circumstances as she could be, she decided to let it be. "S-Say... Neptune? Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure thing! What's up?"

A pause so that Neptune could adjust herself, Noire relishing in the feeling of Neptune's hair brushing againt her body, and then Noire found herself face to face with the object of her affection. This was much worse than that almost-kiss, this was heaven — or was it hell?

"What are you doing here?" As soon as the words left her lips, Noire knew she was an idiot. This was _Neptune's_ bed. If anything, the proper question was what was _she_ doing here, and it should be _Neptune_ asking it.

Neptune's eyes lit up. She'd been waiting for this. She'd carefully switched places with the pillow Noire had been clinging to and watched her sleep for probably an hour just for this moment. ... Okay, that wasn't totally true, she'd actually kind of enjoyed watching Noire sleep and all the free cuddling she'd gotten out of the deal, and the whole thing had really helped her sort her own feelings out, but that was besides the point.

This was it!

"Oh, you know..." Neptune closed her eyes and pressed herself against Noire's body — Noire's face lit up like a traffic light (Neptune's cheeks were in a similar state thanks to how bold she was acting, but for the sake of her "plan," she didn't intend on letting Noire see that) — before whispering softly in her ear. "I'm just practicing for our wedding night."

Eyes bulging, Noire promptly shoved Neptune off of her and stared incredulously at the Planeptune CPU. She'd heard wrong. She'd definitely heard wrong. She'd absolutely one hundred and ten percent with all positiveness there was in the world heard wrong.

"Y-Y-You're making fun of me, aren't you!?" Noire declared, pointing an accusatory finger at Neptune as she tried to catch her breath. Pointing at Neptune was hard, given their proximity, but she tried. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears and she was quite positive that after this they'd be calling her Red Heart with how badly she was blushing.

"Making fun of you...?" Neptune... didn't look like she was making fun of Noire. Sure, she was grinning like she always did when she made fun of Noire, but there was something different about her right now. Her cheeks were stained with pink, and there was something that Noire couldn't quite place in Neptune's expression. Was it... fear? Slowly, Neptune removed herself from Noire and sat herself down a little bit away from her. "Well, maybe a little, hahaha... But c'mon, I've been waiting for you to wake up all this time, and the first thing you do is shove me away? That's why you don't have any friends, Noire!"

"I-I have friends!" Noire protested. Her mind still hadn't caught up with the situation, and now Neptune was starting this again? That was just not fair! Shooting a glance away from Neptune, Noire mumbled out a question that she'd always meant to ask whenever this topic had come up, but had never had the courage. Given what Neptune had just been saying... Maybe now was the time?

"W... What about you? Aren't you my friend?"

Noire peeked at Neptune — to Noire's surprise, Neptune looked visibly struck by the question. Shame filled Noire. Had she hurt Neptune, questioning their friendship? Had she just crossed a line? Noire opened her mouth to apologize, when Neptune's gaze hardened, resolve filling her expression.

"No. No, I'm not," Neptune said finally.

Noire's heart sunk. Her whole body felt heavy — no, Noire felt downright sick. It was one thing to have her feelings rejected, but their friendship too? She fell back onto the bed, where she had been sitting up a moment prior. Somehow, she hadn't expected that. Maybe that was why she had never asked. Was she really just something to tease to Neptune...? Staring at the ceiling, she could feel a fresh wave of tears starting to come.

To her surprise, Neptune crawled over to her- No, Neptune crawled _on top of her_ and looked her in the eyes. Blinking away tears, Noire was prepared to yell and scream, prepared to chase Neptune out of her own bedroom- She did not need this right now after what Neptune had just said. It was quite possibly the most hurtful thing anyone had ever said to her. But Neptune's next sentence — Neptune's clarification — changed everything.

"I want to be more than your friend."

Noire's heart skipped a beat. Her anger died away almost instantly.

"I don't understand... What do you-"

Noire never finished her question, and she never would, for in that moment Neptune had lowered herself to Noire and pressed their lips together in a kiss.

Noire understood now.


	17. Chapter 17

The kiss didn't last as long as Noire would have liked, yet at the same time, it felt like it lasted a lifetime. It was a gentle, if awkward kiss — clearly neither of them were particularly experienced, but for Neptune and Noire, it was incredible all the same.

After a few, wonderful moments, Neptune gently pulled away, rolling to the side to prop herself up on her elbow. Her expression was a mixture of relief and happiness. Noire, for her part, was just doing everything she could not to open and close her mouth like a helpless fish. She slowly turned to Neptune, mirroring the other CPU's position, with an expression of surprise and embarrassment on her own face.

"Y-You know, you just about broke my heart for a minute there!" Noire mumbled, doing her best to get her footing back with the biggest pout she could muster. Mind, it was incredibly _hard_ to act upset when she felt like jumping for joy and bursting into song, but she was certainly going to try!

"Sorry, sorry!" Neptune wasn't bothering with the whole "cold and aloof tsundere" act, and was plenty fine with showing how happy and relieved she was right now. Smiling brightly at Noire, she reached with her free hand to flick the other girl's nose. "I just wanted to build up dramatic tension, I guess?"

"D-Dramatic tension!?" Noire cried indignantly, swatting Neptune's hand away like it was a particularly nasty fly. She couldn't believe it! That was her reasoning!? "Are you trying to get yourself divorced before we're even married?"

"Nooooo!" To Noire's surprise, Neptune flung herself at the other CPU and buried herself in her wife-to-be's chest. Flustered, not to mention caught totally off guard, Noire could only gape as Neptune looked up at her pitifully, a double-whammy teasing and pouting expression on her face. "I worked up all my nerve to do this, so you're not allowed to make jokes like that! Or else!"

"O-Or else what?" Noire seriously doubted Neptune could do anything to her that could get her down after what she'd already pulled today, but you never knew with a person like Neptune... Though she suspected any chance of Neptune trying to hurt her was gone now, unless she was going to say this was all a horrible practical joke.

Thinking back to the kiss, Noire smiled despite herself. There was no way _that_ was happening.

"Weeeell..." Neptune pulled away from Noire. Though her body inwardly cried out from the lack of contact, outwardly Noire simply raised her eyebrows, questioning what the purple haired CPU could _possibly_ planning, until- "Close your eyes and maybe you'll find out."

Noire obeyed without question.

Only to be rewarded with a pillow to the face.

"H-Hey!" Noire cried out indignantly, pulling the pillow away to give her attacker a stern talking to. Neptune was too busy laughing and pointing at Noire's face — apparently her expression had been "so totally worth it" — to care about whatever Noire was about to say, it seemed... Which was just fine with Noire! "In that case... Take this!"

"Wh-" Neptune's surprise was cut off as pillow met face, and this time it was Noire that was laughing and pointing. Neptune's expression _had_ certainly been worth it.

Clutching the pillow in mock-fury, Neptune gave Noire a half-hearted glare before turning her gaze down to the pillow, much to Noire's amusement — though she was doing her best to look annoyed. Neptune _really_ wanted to strike back, but she also didn't want to spoil everything that had happened with a cliche pillow fight scene either (she was a main character with standards, after all!) — which, unbeknownst to her, was exactly what Noire was expecting her to do.

In the silence, Noire began to think — something that was always bad in times like this. Where had this come from? Was this the time to be asking? Or was there no better time — shouldn't she ask before things got too complicated?

Neptune herself happened to be in deep thought as well. Actually, there was something Neptune really wanted to do now that it looked like she was in the clear, but she knew Noire would get mad at her if she did it...

Maybe it was worth a try anyway?

The silence was quickly becoming awkward, and Noire wanted to speak, but she was afraid the moment she did, she'd regret it.

"Hey, Noire?" Neptune hadn't looked up from the pillow yet, which left Noire in the dark as to what kind of expression the other girl might have might now.

"What?" Noire felt like she was prepared for anything at this point, but then again, today seemed to be just full of surprises, so maybe she shouldn't try to expect anything from the other CPU.

"Close your eyes."

Noire made a face.

"I am _not_ that stupid!" Lastation's CPU protested, crossing her arms and looking away.

"I'll get rid of the pillow! Here, look," As if to demonstrate that she was being "noble," Neptune tossed the pillow off of the bed. Noire dimly watched the pillow disappear beyond the horizon of the edge of the bed, before turning back to Neptune warily.

Sure, there were still other pillows, but Noire knew that would be a pretty lame punchline if that was Neptune's plan... And, her heart starting to beat faster in excitement, Noire was more than willing to risk another pillow if it meant there was another chance of a kiss again.

"J-Just know if you blow it this time, I really _will_ divorce you..." Noire tossed a hand through one of her twintails before closing her eyes obediently. For a moment, nothing happened — and Noire was just about to open her eyes when something finally came.

This time, instead of pillow, Noire felt lips being pressed against hers. Trembling at first, as if unsure if what she was doing was okay, Neptune finally pressed her lips against Noire's in full. Noire was more than happy to return the kiss, her heart fluttering widlly as Neptune took Noire's shoulders in her hands and held herself against the other CPU for a good few moments.

The kiss was gentle, but passionate. The two CPU fought for dominance, but in the end, Neptune pushed Noire onto the bed without breaking the kiss, pinning her once again. They stayed like that for a little while longer before the need for air eventually overtook the both of them, and they broke away, breath heavy.

"Did I... Did I blow it...?" Neptune was the first to speak, her cheeks flushed and eyes trained exclusively on Noire's lips. She could get used to being able to do this.

"I'd give it about..." Noire trailed off, looking Neptune over. It wasn't hard to tell where — or what, rather — Neptune was so focused on. A smirk came to Noire. It was time for the Lastation CPU to regain the upper hand. "... Maybe a fifty. Maybe."

"A- A _fifty_!?" Neptune sat out, clearly outraged by the insult to her kissing abilities. She clutched her chest, before turning away from Noire so she could regain her bearings. It wasn't like she had experience to know better either, right? "L-Like you would know!"

Noire licked her lips. She swallowed.

She'd been waiting years for a moment like this, but in all her wildest fantasies, she'd never dreamed that it would ever come to pass.

In the back of her mind, those questions began bubbling up again-

Mustering all her courage and pushing those questions away, Noire gently sat up and reached for Neptune's chin, ignoring the girl's surprise as she tugged her over-

"Noire, what're you-"

This time, Noire was taking charge. She pressed her lips against Neptune's, finally initiating for the first time. She didn't stop there, though. She'd wanted this for so long — she wasn't going to let herself be little more than the dazed schoolgirl that melted into Neptune's hands!

Parting her lips open enough to allow her tongue passage, Noire trailed her tongue across Neptune's lips. Slowly, she was granted entrance, and then a new sort of battle took place — twirling, swirling, sucking, exploring; the CPUs' two tongues battled for what seemed like an eternity, greeting each other and getting used to the others' mouth. But Noire wasn't done yet — using her free hand, she reached for the small of Neptune's back to pull the girl closer. She wanted to enjoy this.

"Don't forget..." Panting, Noire dropped Neptune onto the bed like a used rag, very proud of herself as the dazed girl let herself simply fall, a look of total satisfaction on her face. "I am player one."

"Yes dear," Neptune replied. Whether or not she was joking or even all there to joke in the first place, Noire couldn't tell, but she'd let it slide this time. The look on Neptune's face was too worth it to get worked up over something like that.

Frankly, Noire was surprised at herself, taking initiative like that — was she taking advantage of the fact that Neptune still seemed to be adjusting to this, whereas Noire had been secretly hoping this for... well, years?

Biting her lip, which was a bit tender from the previous bout with Neptune, Noire gingerly laid herself down next to Neptune, resting her head on her arms before peeking over at the other CPU as she tried to get a hold on her pounding heart.

They sat in silence for a little while — Neptune still wearing a particularly dazed, doofy expression, while Noire's began to grow increasingly confused as those dark, piercing questions began to rise up from the depths of her — quite honestly — scared heart once again.

What had spurred this on?

Why was this happening?

"... Hey, Noire?"

Was it just because of Noire's agreeing to Histoire's plan?

Would Neptune have jumped into bed (figuratively) with Vert or Blanc if either of them had been the one to say they would do it?

"Noooiiiiire?"

Should she even be asking?

Was she going to ruin everything, thinking like-

"NOIRE!"

"Ah!" Noire blinked. Neptune was waving an arm in Noire's face. "W-What is it?"

"That's my question, dummy!" Retracting her arm, Neptune tilted her head — apparently she'd finally recovered from the kiss. "You okay?"

Noire opened her mouth to answer, then closed it.

Was she okay? Logically, she should be. Something she had desired for a long, long time was happening, and yet... At the same time, there was that increasingly growing nagging feeling that Neptune couldn't possibly return her feelings — that this was just...

"Hey, Neptune...?" Her mouth was moving before Noire realized what was happening, and by the time she had caught on to it, it was too late. "If Vert or Blanc had said they would marry you instead of me... Would you... You know..."

Shooting a quick glance to the side, Noire's fears were confirmed — Neptune looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Good going, Noire. Way to blow this relationship — was it even one yet? — not even an hour into it!

"I..." Neptune wracked her brain, trying to come up with a good reason to present Noire... Her heart started to pound, and it quickly became the only thing she could hear, the constant pounding in her ears. The pounding, oh the pounding, it became so distracting that Neptune couldn't think straight under Noire's gaze. Her mind went blank when she knew, she _knew _that she should have been thinking, coming up with an essay's worth of answers as to why Noire was better than Blanc and Vert.

She couldn't think of anything. It wasn't that there wasn't anything there — right? — it was the pressure. The pressure of being put on the spot like that... The sudden but tremendous doubt Noire had thrust upon her... It was too much for her to push past to be able to think properly.

In a weak whisper, Neptune looked away, unable to meet the other girl's eyes, and finally answered Noire.

"I don't know."

Even leaving her lips, Neptune knew it wasn't true. There was no one for her but Noire, right? And as soon as she said it, Neptune realized she'd done something bad.

If Noire had done this for her, then she'd probably already had feelings for Neptune, even if Neptune herself had never realized it until just a little while ago... Neptune, on the other hand, had only started feeling this way — or noticing she felt this way, if she'd felt this way beforehand — once Noire had made the pledge to save Neptune's life. Once she'd started thinking about Noire that way, once Noire had been there for her, things had started falling into place... But what if someone else had been there? Who was to say that Neptune wasn't just an easy CPU that would have started to have feelings for the first person to make a gesture like Noire had?

Neptune was starting to feel sick — but not nearly as sick as Noire felt right then.

"I'm going."

Neptune wanted to stop her. Neptune knew she should stop her.

So why did she just watch Noire go?


	18. Chapter 18

Despite the fact that she wasn't a Planeptune native, NISA often found herself doing Quests for the ailing country's sake rather than the other three — in her mind, she was duty what any self-respecting hero would do. If there was an underdog in need of assistance, NISA would be there! Likewise, if there was a country in need of shares, then NISA would be there!

Indeed — NISA was more than just a self-proclaimed hero of justice! She was, in fact, the real, shining, balance broken, princess form deal! And she would be sure to always be there for whatever underdog — or undernation — needed her!

"Does not explain why _Gust_ gets dragged along..."

NISA glanced down towards her small partner-in-crime, who was once again complaining. Despite the fact that the little alchemist complained quite often about this or that, it never got the heroine down — quite the contrary! It only seemed to fuel the girl's heroic spirit even more. NISA laughed, lowering herself ever so slightly and giving the diminuitive girl a hearty smack on the back.

"Don't worry, my sidekick-in-training! Once your training is complete and your heart has fully awakened to the spirit of justice, all will be clear to you! Ha ha ha!"

There was a pause. It was as if the small alchemist was contemplating whether or not she should bother to reply. Perhaps they had had this conversation before?

"Gust does not remember agreeing to be sidekick. Been through this."

"That will be today's lesson! A hero never reads the fine print, because they're always too busy in a rush to save lives!"

Gust narrowed her eyes, giving NISA a look that did nothing but display pity and judgement towards the taller woman. NISA's smile faltered slightly, but she did her best to hold it in place. If she were to let herself give in to looks like that, then she would have stopped being a hero _years_ ago! And besides, what kind of hero cared about what other people thought? Not the good ones, that's for sure!

Apparently, Gust didn't feel the same.

"Was bad and you know it."

"S-Shut up!" NISA cried defensively, turning away from Gust and increasing her speed. The alchemist only sighed and did her best to match the hero's pace — she would never understand why she put up with this when she could be out there making herself a profit somewhere.

"So? Where we going?" Gust hoped it was somewhere that she could set up shop, if only for a little while. Despite her protests, she'd found that NISA tended to draw a crowd (for better or worse), and more often than not, that crowd would often be interested in what she had for sale. That was probably why she hung around the flat-chested girl so much... Probably.

"Oh yeah!" That seemed to have snapped NISA out of it. Giving a dramatic point forwards, NISA turned eagerly to her friend, flames erupting in her eyes. "I got a request from an employee of the Basilicom, so we're headed there to get details now! I was thinking about saying hi to everyone while we were there. What do you think?"

Gust had stopped listening to NISA at some point after "Basilicom," both because she'd gotten her answer, and also because something much more pressing had caught her attention. Stopping on the sidewalk, Gust pointed behind the pair, much to NISA's confusion.

"Gust thinks Lady Noire just walked by us. Looked upset. Didn't even say hello."

"- Huh?" NISA spun around to confirm what Gust was saying, and sure enough, a familiar head of black hair was making its way into the crowd that they had just escaped from. NISA's eyes widened as a multitude of villainous plots began playing out in her head, the quest she had accepted already gone from her mind. "Gust! We have to follow her! She could be in trouble!"

"But quest-"

Grabbing Gust's arm, NISA dashed off in the direction Noire had gone in, yelling something about never abandoning people in trouble. Sighing to herself, Gust pulled out her cell phone — might as well phone in and let the guild know that someone else was going to have to handle the person in trouble that they had just abandoned...

* * *

"You said _what_!?"

Neptune winced as she watched IF sit up in bed, looking positively furious. If she had to describe the look on IF's face right then, well... Okay, quite frankly, she'd rather not. She didn't even want to know what was going on in the girl's mind right now — though she had a preeeetty good idea. Compa tried to calm IF down, but this time, not even the nurse could calm the Leanbox native down.

"Well what was I supposed to do?" Neptune did feel genuinely bad, but... "I-It's not like it was a lie or anything! And with Noire looking at me like that, what was I supposed to do? Tell her I needed a break so I could think about it? That probably would have been even worse than what I did!"

"But was it true?" IF was quick and to the point, causing Neptune to wince again. That was just like her, wasn't it? Neptune wondered if she would have been better off going to Nepgear for a moment, but then IF continued, leaving her other options cut short. "Would you have _really_ fallen for someone else, or were you just running your mouth without thinking it all the way through?"

"I..." Neptune trailed off. She didn't know. That was sort of the whole point, wasn't it? She wasn't sure. More than anything, she hadn't want to hurt Noire — she didn't want to end up saying something that would upset her! But... In the end, wasn't that what she had gone and ended up doing anyway? Swallowing nervously, Neptune looked away, unable to meet IF's gaze. "... Maybe...?"

"Then you shouldn't have said anything!" IF sighed, rubbing her temples. This was giving her a migraine. After how sweet and dramatic and everything their earlier parting had been (really! for a brief moment, she'd almost considered changing her faith!), Neptune _would_ have totally blown things with Noire, wouldn't she? "Ugh... This is probably my fault too... I shouldn't've pushed you so soon..."

"N-No!" Neptune put her hands up, shaking her head furiously. "I'm sure now, I definitely _do_ care about Noire! I just... You know? I just...!"

"You just told her that you could have cared about her two biggest rivals just as easily," IF finished flatly, her voice deadpan. "Yeah, you sure care about her alright."

"N-Now now, Iffy, Nep-Nep didn't mean anything by it..." Compa tried to be the mediator — to her surprise, one wasn't needed. Neptune accepted what IF said pretty easily and looked for all the world like she had just kicked a puppy — or had been the sweet little puppy that was on the end of the kicking. Offering her friend a comforting smile, Compa tilted her head slightly. "Why don't you just think about what you like about Miss Noire over Miss Blanc and Miss Vert besides for what Miss Noire is doing for Planeptune? Then you'll have something to tell her."

"You know, Compa, that's actually a pretty good idea," IF smiled appreciatively towards the nurse, earning a bright smile in return. Glowing thanks to that, IF turned to Neptune and offered a hand, as if saying "well? can you do it?" with it. "So? Think you can do it?"

"Well... I can try!" Making little fists with her hands, Neptune struck her most serious pose and began to think like she'd never thought before! Some might argue she never had, but that was besides the point.

For at least ten minutes, Neptune was silent, letting herself return once more to what she had inwardly dubbed as Noiresville. She went over just about everything she could think of when it came to the other CPU — whether it was things she liked about her or even disliked. It was a real surprise to her two friends. Compa and IF exchanged glances, looking almost proud of their friend. It looked like she was really going to take this seriously after all. Maybe she and Noire would be okay...

Thanks to the lack of pressure on her, Neptune found it very easy to think about Noire — what's more, she found it very enjoyable as well. She couldn't help but flush slightly as certain thoughts crossed her mind — but ultimately, as her blush faded, she realized that everything was alright after all. Noire — and she — had been worried for nothing.

Neptune raised her head and looked at IF and Compa confidently, ready to make her declaration. Her two friends looked at her, pride shining in their eyes.

"... Well, I definitely like Noire's boobs more," Neptune finally murmured, looking completely serious as she spoke. IF and Compa choked. "There's nothing there with Blanc, and there's so much flopping around with Vert that I wouldn't know what to do with them."

"N-Now just hold on one minute!" IF, much to Neptune's surprise, seemed to look extremely offended by her assessment of her friends' breasts. "Lady Vert's breasts are perfectly fine just the way they-"

The room grew extremely cold all of a sudden. For a brief moment, it was as though a horrific monster had entered the room, or perhaps some kind of dangerous mythical being had descended. Slowly, IF and Neptune turned to the source of this terrifying feeling, and in unison, they swallowed nervously.

"Oh...? Perfectly fine...?"

IF froze. Neptune shuddered.

There weren't words capable of describing the look Compa was giving IF just then.

"... T-That is..." IF coughed into her hand and looked away. She knew she had done it now. "Just because _you_ don't like them doesn't mean _other people_ don't find them attractive!"

Neptune paled. Even _she_ knew IF had just dug her own grave.

"Oh...? And who are these other people...?"

A cold sweat began running down the back of IF's neck. She was screwed. She was so thoroughly screwed that no amount of Revival Disks would save her from how screwed she was.

"N-Nobody, Compa, nobody, I was just making an example!" IF protested, forcing the most forced smile she had ever forced in her entire life. Forcibly. It took a moment, maybe three, but it seemed like Compa accepted the answer, because after a little bit IF stopped feeling like her life was in danger. Mostly. Breathing a sigh of relief, IF wiped her brow as soon as Compa turned back to Neptune. That had been close. "A-Anyway... Is there anything else that you can make a comparison with? Besides their chests, Neptune? Because honestly... I think Lady Blanc and Lady Vert are the ones who care most about that kind of thing. I've never known Lady Noire to get that worked up about it..."

Neptune gave IF an incredulous look as the guild member trailed off — Compa had slowly turned to IF again. Apparently she knew too much about how the CPUs felt about their chests. Or something like that.

"Is there anything else out there in this wide, wide world besides boobs, IF?" The portrait of seriousness, Neptune stared IF in the eye for a long moment. "_Is there_?"

Instinctively, Compa shielded herself — or rather, certain parts of herself — from Neptune's gaze. IF's eye twitched. Neptune's lips cracked upward in the beginnings of a grin.

"ARE YOU GOING TO TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY OR NOT!?"

"Okay, okay!" Laughing, Neptune ducked as IF threw her pillow at her. That was happening a lot today, huh? She might need to buy some kind of pillow repellant if this kept up! "Actually, I thought of a lot of stuff I like more about Noire... Like... A _whole_ lot of stuff... I just never really thought about it — her — like this before all this talk about getting married." A pause. "Does it still count?"

IF smiled softly.

"Of course it still counts, you doofus," IF jabbed a finger towards the door. "If you're sure this time, and you're _sure_ you won't mess up — and I do mean _sure_-"

"I'm sure! Thanks, you two!" Giving her best friends in the whole wide world a thumbs up, Neptune — now filled with confidence — made a dash for the door. She was pretty sure Noire wouldn't be in the Basilicom anymore, so she'd have to make tracks if she wanted to find her fast! And boy did she want to find her!

"Good luck, Nep-Nep!"

"Go get her."

Waving their friend goodbye, IF and Compa shared a moment together by looking at each other and crossing their fingers. They really, truly hoped for the best. After everything Neptune had been through, she could use a little bit of happiness, and the two of them both knew love was just the kind of thing that could do it.

Besides... There was no way Neptune could mess up twice in one day, right?

Deciding that she'd done all she could — for real this time — IF closed her eyes and hoped that her sleep wouldn't get interrupted again. She smiled softly to herself, picturing the look on Lady Noire's face as Neptune did something stupid like bursting into a room and declaring her undying affection for her or something like that. She'd love to be able to see how things went down... But right now, she just wanted to sleep...

But then she heard the lock on the door click.

"... Okay! Now that we're alone..."

"... Eh? Compa, what're you..."

"It's time for your treatment!"

"...!? C-Compa, I r-really don't think that the syringe is necessary for anything here-"

"Hehehe... Just hold still, okay Iffy?"

"N-No, really, Compa, I don't think- Compa, I didn't mean it! ... Compa? Compa!? _Compa_!"


	19. Chapter 19

The dynamic duo of NISA and Gust had been trailing after Noire for a good while now. The CPU hadn't done anything particularly out of the ordinary, at least, not initially... But then things had gotten kind of weird.

After she'd walked around aimlessly for about fifteen minutes, she'd stopped at an ice cream stand and ordered cotton candy flavored ice cream ("Look, Gust! It's the same shade as Purple Heart's hair!" "Keep yelling and we get noticed.") but ended up throwing it away after only eating a little of it. After that, she'd stopped by a fountain and stared at it for a little while. NISA had thought it was a good time to approach, but all of a sudden, the twintailed CPU had yelled "YOU IDIOT!" into the fountain and dashed off, nearly giving NISA a heart attack.

"S-She meant me, right? She totally mean me, didn't she?" the flustered hero cried, pointing to herself despairingly. She had been caught! Her years upon years of heroic deeds and training had failed her right at the most crucial moment! How could she ever face anyone now?!

"Probably. Going to lose her if not move fast," Gust paid NISA no mind, grabbing the blue haired girl's hand and charging forward. It was a rare moment in which Gust was being completely selfless, concerned only about a friend... and if Gust played her cards right, she could have a CPU in her debt, which would be a far better prize than anything she could have hoped to gain normally while working with NISA today.

Blissfully unaware of her pursuers, Noire was doing everything in her power to get her mind off of Neptune. Thus far, just about everything she tried had failed miserably, but she had never been the type to just up and give up — and unfortunately, she was stuck in Planeptune until whenever Uni called her and told her she was ready to leave. They'd already been here over a day now — just up and leaving would be strange.

She supposed she could just ditch her sister, but... Noire wasn't that desparate to leave. Deep down, maybe she hoped Neptune would come after her, sweep her off her feet, and make everything better.

"Like that would ever happen," Noire laughed bitterly. Despite how much it hurt, she couldn't help but think that what had happened was just so Neptune. Of course Neptune would fall for whoever had been there for her. Neptune was so clumsy in everything like that. Not to mention that there was just no way that Noire stood out in any other way, was there? Of course not.

She made her way through the streets of Planeptune, slower now, with no particular destination in mind. Unfortunately for her, as this was Neptune's country, there were things that screamed either Neptune or Purple Heart just about everywhere she went. The fact that the capital was so deserted compared to the last time Noire had truly explored the area really hit home.

"Look, it's Lady Black Heart!"

"She must be here to see Lady Purple Heart!"

"Perhaps she's going to buy her a gift?"

"Oh, she's coming this way — move, move!"

Or maybe it only seemed deserted because people were staying out of her way? Noire dimly realized that people were whispering about her and Neptune, which made her heart sink for a variety of reasons. She couldn't believe that only a short while ago, she and Neptune had been kissing like that, and now...?

"I might never kiss her again," the CPU murmured to herself. Not that it was a big deal — logically, she knew it shouldn't be a big deal. A few hours ago, the idea of a world in which she and Neptune could kiss regularly was completely alien, if she ignored that almost-kiss from the other day. Now though, it seemed like it was just within reach, yet impossible to grasp at the same time.

The CPU of Lastation let out a wistful sigh. If she hadn't let herself wonder... If she hadn't let herself get so worried... If only if only _if only_...!

Noire finally came to a stop near the boardwalk that was in the southernmost part of the capital. A large, beautiful body of water, with various buildings floating on top of it — you could even rent a boat to go out on the water if you so desired. It was a lovely place (she was fairly certain Neptune had nothing to do with its creation — Nepgear, maybe?), and somewhere she'd often thought about recreating in Lastation. She'd never entertained more than thoughts though — the Gamindustri Graveyard would freeze over before she would ever incorporate something from Planeptune into the bigger plans of Lastation.

Still... The CPU looked thoughtful, glancing towards where she recalled the boat rental area was.

Maybe some time on the water would help her clear her head...

* * *

"Good job. She on boat now. Won't catch her for sure."

NISA slumped over the railing that blocked off pedestrians from falling into the water as she and Gust watched Noire pedal away in a little swan boat. For all their effort in chasing the CPU down, she had now gone where neither of them could reach her.

Sure, they could try to get a boat themselves, but...

NISA shot a glance at Gust. Tiny, small, diminuitive... Gust.

There was no way the little alchemist could reach the pedals, and NISA wasn't about to abandon her sidekick over something like this. Maybe Gust could sit in NISA's lap...? A light blush rose to NISA's cheeks at the thought of sitting down in what would be considered by most in a romantic setting, someone else in her lap, and she quickly glanced away. Noticing the hero's expression, Gust narrowed her eyes.

"... You just thought something bad about Gust."

"I-I did not! I was thinking about how I wouldn't abandon you for anything!" NISA did her best to save face with a heroic remark full of pure heroism, but it looked like Gust could see right through her. For a brief moment, it looked to NISA like Gust was about to pull out her staff on NISA, but then...

"Gust going home. See RED by yourself," the little alchemist shrugged and turned to leave. She wasn't making any profit like this. This was just a complete and total waste of her time. Looking up at the defeated looking hero, Gust sighed. Why was she so nice? "Call Gust when there quest with good payout. Maybe Gust show up. Maybe."

"Guuuuust...!" Having almost completely forgotten Noire, NISA began to follow Gust in the little alchemist's exit — but something in the sky caught her eye. She stopped, planting her legs firmly on the ground in a most dramatic fashion, and pointed skywards. She didn't have to look to know her scarf was billowing in the nonexistent winds. "Gust! Look!"

Gust would have ignored the obvious attempt to make her stay, except Gust noticed that, looking around, NISA wasn't the only one with their gaze trained above. In fact, everyone in the immediate vicinity was looking up, and many of the people around them were starting to talk excitedly to each other.

"It's Lady Purple Heart!"

"Lady Purple Heart has come to grace us with her presence!"

"How is my hair? Oh, she's looking down here! Move, you're in the way!"

"Hey!"

"Lady Purple Heart, congratulations on your engagement!"

"We're rooting for you, Lady Purple Heart!"

"Lady Neptune, down heeeeere!"

Gust spun around — that last one had been NISA. Not only that, it seemed like the CPU up in the sky had actually noticed the self-proclaimed hero and was flying on down — much to the thrill of the growing crowd. Many had taken out cell phones or cameras and had begun taking pictures and filming video of their goddess. It wasn't every day that she made appearances like this, especially with the crisis the country was facing! What fortune would she bring with her today?

Though the onlookers couldn't tell, NISA and Gust had known Neptune long enough to tell that she had seen better days. Flying for however long she had been flying in her transformed HDD state had clearly taken a good deal of the CPU's strength. The beautiful woman was panting as she landed, her body visibly covered in sweat. It seemed like she could barely hold her transformation as well, for as soon as she raised a hand in greeting, there was a flash of light, and in Purple Heart's place stood the small form of Neptune.

"Heeeey, NISA, Gust!" Despite how visibly weak the girl appeared, Neptune was still able to give her two friends and comrades a cheerful smile. Seeing this not only warmed the hearts of those around, but it filled NISA with confidence as well. "You two might be just the people I've been needing!"

Meanwhile, Gust's ears perked up. She'd lost the chance to have one goddess in her debt, only to end up with another? What a day this was turning out to be! Maybe sticking around NISA had been worth it after all... Even NISA seemed interested, albeit for much more noble reasons that Gust, but that was fine too. It was what made NISA a good... accomplice.

"Of course! Anything for you! Just say the word, and we'll be there!" Neptune smiled brightly as NISA flashed Neptune a winning smile, posing dramatically as her scarf blew in the wind that hadn't been blowing moments ago. Gust made a mental note to ask if NISA had put a spell on it, but there were more pressing matters to attend to right now.

"So? Need something?" Getting straight to the point, Gust rubbed her hands together and looked up and Neptune eagerly.

"Oh yeah!" Grinning sheepishly, Neptune hoped that these two would be able to help her. She knew full well that chances were slim, and she was probably wasting time when she could be in the air continuing her search, but three sets of eyes were much better than one, weren't they? Taking a deep breath, Neptune steadied herself against the railing, leaning against it, and made her request. "I'm looking for Noire. Could you guys help me find her?"

Gust would have let out a sinister laugh if she had been the type. Instead, she held out a hand.

"Location of Lady Noire will cost-"

"You're in luck! She's right over there!"

Overriding Gust completely, NISA pointed behind Neptune and towards the boat that Noire was still pedaling away in, completely unaware of what was going on back over on land. Neptune spun around, nearly toppling Gust over, before grabbing NISA's hand in thanks and dashing off without so much as a word.

"... Gust give up. Never going to earn anything when working with you."

"Hm? Did you say something, Gust?"

* * *

The more time Noire spent on the water, the more Noire realized that it just made her feel lonely. She was in the only boat out here, and to make matters worse, she had a perfect view of the Basilicom — where Neptune was surely still waiting — from her position. She wondered what it would have been like, to come out in one of these boats with Neptune...

She could just picture it now. If Noire hadn't said anything, heck, they might have even come down here today to celebrate their relationship. Neptune would be teasing her (of course) and Noire would be denying everything that Neptune said, but eventually she'd come to start admitting them...

Neptune might be shy, or maybe she'd be bold... Noire wasn't really sure how Neptune would act, really, but Noire secretly would have liked for Neptune to be bold about things in that situation. A wry smile rose to Noire's cheeks at the thought. Neptune was probably much too dense to be considered the "bold" type, but... At the same time, looking at how she had been before everything had gone to hell, maybe being "bold" was something Neptune was a natural at?

"Neptune..." As the name left her lips, Noire couldn't help but soften her expression. She couldn't help it! She'd cared about Neptune for so long, much as she'd often tried to deny it, and now here she was... In this crazy situation. It wasn't crazy enough that she and Neptune were getting married, no, Neptune had somehow actually developed feelings for her!

Noire shook her head.

"But it's only because I'm doing this for her," the CPU stated with a sense of grim finality.

That's right. It could have been Blanc or Vert or — heck — even Uni! Neptune would probably have fallen for anyone if they had been in the right place at the right time. How could she not? Whoever accepted Histoire's offer, despite all of the risks, was essentially becoming Neptune's Princess Charming. Of course Neptune would be sweeped off her feet!

... Still... Noire wondered what Neptune was up to right now. Noire had probably hurt her, rejecting her for such a reason, but... Noire herself was hurting too. Right now, she had to think about herself... Yet why did all of her thoughts keep leading back to Neptune? This was getting her nowhere!

"NOIIIIRE!"

Aaaah... She was hearing things now, wasn't she? Noire's cheeks flushing slightly, she closed her eyes and leaned back in the boat. Might as well enjoy this fantasy... It was probably going to be one of the last, given how things were going... She wouldn't allow herself to fantasize anymore. Not with how serious things had gotten.

"You're not going to listen? ... Okay, that's fine too! Just sit back and listen to what I have to say! You don't have to move a muscle!"

Noire just laid there, letting whatever her subconscious wanted to show her play out. It wasn't like she had anything better to do. Maybe she had up and fallen asleep while on the water. It was certainly relaxing enough...

"I love how easy it is to get you riled up!"

This was a particularly strange fantasy, Noire noted. It was kind of insulting, actually. She could hear a lot of people besides Neptune too, and there were snaps of cameras and other things as well. Perhaps something was going on that was interrupting her alone time? This didn't certainly seem like a dream anymore, after all... She peeked an eye open, and to her horror-

"I love how you look when you're trying to pretend you're not embarrassed!"

-standing on the railing, back on land, was none other than Neptune, her hands cupped around her mouth and a crowd of people all around her. Noire's eyes widening, she sat up — only for her head to hit the roof of the boat with a "thump." W-What was Neptune thinking, doing this here!?

And what was "this" that she was doing in the first place!?

"I love the way you overwork your butt off! You put Blanc and Vert to shame with how determined you are to get even the most pointless stuff done!"

For the next few minutes, Neptune went on and on — from deep, emotional things, to the most mundane things that she could think of, and all Noire could do was gape as her cheeks grew redder and redder while the ever growing crowd grew more and more excited — but none was feeling the rush more than Noire herself.

"I love your hair! I want to touch it some more!"

"I love how devoted you are to everything you do!"

"I love how you work extra hard even though it's just overcompensating!"

"I love how you flip your hair back when you're trying to look cocky! It's really cute how you think you're being threatening like that!"

"I love making fun of you! You're the only person who's as much fun to tease! I hope you know I don't mean anything by it!"

"I loved how you took that show at the amusement park seriously! It was really funny how you posed and everything! ... Er, in a good way though! I thought it was cute!"

"I love how you're such a responsible older sister now! Uni's really lucky!"

"I love how you look gorgeous no matter what dumb cosplay you're wearing — and yeah, I've seen it! You know what else? I want to dress up like a dorky couple from a stupid romcom anime with you and I wouldn't care what anyone would say about us!"

"I love the sound of your voice! I want to hear you sing to me someday! And I want to sing with you too!"

"I love the way you kiss me!"

"I loved our date! And I'm not kidding this time about calling it that, I'm glad it was one — and I want to go on another one ASAP!"

"I love the way your boobs bounce _just right_ when you kill stuff! Vert's got nothing on you!"

"I love the way your breath feels on my skin!"

"I love the way you look when you're asleep!"

"A-And I totally don't mean that in a creepy way, honest!"

"I love how much you care, even though you're too scared to admit it!"

"I love looking into your eyes!"

"I love it when you look at me and only me, like I'm the only thing that matters! I want to be that to you, Noire!"

"I love that you..."

Neptune seemed to go on and on. Noire wasn't sure for how long Neptune was going to keep this up, but she knew that if Neptune kept it up, her face would likely suffer a meltdown from all of the blood that had rushed to it. The fact that there was an eager and excited crowd just made it all that much worse, but despite Neptune's own clearly blushing face, she seemed to be refusing to stop.

Finally, after what seemed like ages of compliments and embarrassing facts, Neptune stopped to take a breath.

"And you know what, Noire?!"

A pause. Was she done? Already?

Noire wasn't sure if she was glad that the embarrassment was over or disappointed that Neptune had finally run out of nice (and semi-nice... and not at all nice) things to say about her.

"I realized... I don't love what you're doing for me, Noire!"

Noire stared incredulously at Neptune. What was she saying? Wasn't that exactly why Neptune had started having feelings for her?

No, a hopeful voice reminded Noire. She had made it very clear just now that there was so much more to it.

"I love that it's _you_ who's doing it!"

_So much more._

Taking a deep breath, Neptune readied herself for the big finale. This one she had actually realized thanks to Uni, so she should thank her later. But first...

Noire stepped out of the boat, transforming into her HDD form, and began floating towards Neptune. She was sure she was crying- She was definitely crying, but she paid it no mind. Right now, she just wanted to get over to Neptune as soon as she could-

"AND I JUST LOOOOOOOVE YOUR CUTE LITTLE BUTT!"

-and _kill her_!


	20. Chapter 20

Blanc had been busy typing away at her lastest story when she'd received the Chirper message from Vert. Seeing as it was from Vert, she was more than happy to ignore it — she was still pretty ticked at the busty CPU after their last encounter. Another message came, and though it had more exclamation points, Blanc ignored it. She was on a roll, dammit!

Another message popped up. Thoroughly frustrated, Blanc was about to type out an angry response, when she realized this one was from Ram. Not a moment later and another message popped up — this one from Rom. Another moment passed, and there was one from Ram again. They were probably fighting over a computer, trying to get some kind of message across.

Closing out of her story with a sigh — it was clear she wasn't going to get any more work done on it — Blanc began clicking through her messages to see what all the fuss was about. Apparently everyone was linking to the same video and they were all acting like friggin schoolgirls about whatever it was. Blanc had half a mind to go back to her story — she'd just been at the good part! — but thought better of it. She was never one to _try_ to be out of the loop.

Scowling, the Lowee CPU opened up the NepTube link and waited.

The feed was shaky at first — whoever was holding the camera either wasn't experienced or was in a rush. Blanc began to suspect the latter, as the feed quickly became much more solid, just as soon as it became focused on...

"Neptune?"

To Blanc's surprise, there was Neptune — or Neptune's back at any rate — facing some sort of body of water. She was climbing up onto the railing (that idiot, did she want to fall off?!) and, as soon as she got herself steady, she cupped her hands around her mouth and started yelling. As Neptune yelled out a very familiar name, the video feed turned to the water and zoomed in — and wouldn't you know it, there was the owner of said name in one of those lame swan boats of all things.

Blanc watched the scene play out with a mixture of embarrassment and fascination, along with some other growing, mysterious emotion, as Neptune, for the entire world to see, spilled her guts out, seemingly not giving a damn about who was watching or listening. Part of Blanc almost felt envious towards Noire for having someone care about her that much, but... At the same time, Blanc would die before she'd let herself get embarrassed like this.

And yet... As the video continued playing, a small part of Blanc clenched up inside. Was it... envy? This time it was definitely envy, and for something much less vague than before. But that couldn't be, could it? But why? It wasn't like she... Sure, she'd known Neptune longer than anyone, competed against Neptune longer than anyone, and had a relationship with Neptune for longer than anyone else had, but... It was purely business, right?

"Tch. I must be losing my mind."

Occasionally cheers would erupt from the crowd, masking what Neptune was saying, to which Blanc swore at them and wished she'd been there to hear... And despite herself, Blanc couldn't help but blush at the sight of it all. Part of her even began to picture what it might be like to be the target of this insane confession, and despite herself, Blanc found herself liking the feeling... up until Neptune mentioned Noire's breasts, at least. That had sort of ruined any fantasy she might have had.

"AND I JUST LOOOOOOOVE YOUR CUTE LITTLE BUTT!"

Blanc's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets at Neptune's final declaration, watching Noire transform into Black Heart, fly out of the boat, and grab Neptune before flying off to who knew where with the flailing Planeptune CPU in her arms and a cheering crowd below. Well, she didn't blame Noire for reacting like that. She knew she sure would have wanted to get the hell out of there if _she'd_ been the target of a confession like that. She probably wouldn't have even lasted that long in the first place, quite frankly.

Typing up a Chirper message of her own, Blanc idly wondered how the two were doing right now.

"Oh well. It's... It's not any of my business."

After completing her message, Blanc opened her story back up to get back to work... or she tried to, at any rate.

She wondered if she really believed herself.

* * *

As soon as Noire was sure that they had reached a fairly secluded location, she made a quick landing before dropping Neptune on the ground without a second thought. The flight had been fairly anticlimactic — Neptune had been wearing the biggest, stupidest grin Noire had ever seen on her, and Noire had been too busy blushing and trying to get her heart to stop pounding to come up with a response.

"Ow!" Now, however, it appeared that Neptune was going to be talking. Rubbing her rump, the purple haired CPU looked up at Noire with a pout on her face. "You didn't have to drop me, y'know!"

"H-Hmph!" Noire reverted to her normal form and crossed her arms, turning away from Neptune. Her face was burning, her heart was pounding, and... to tell the truth, she felt like she could fly away at any minute from how excited she was feeling. It was taking all of her willpower not to smile and pick Neptune back up and just squish the other girl as it was! "And you didn't have to say all of that stuff in front of the entire population of Planeptune!"

"Sure I did," Neptune replied casually, spreading her arms out on the grass behind her and leaning backwards. Noire stared at Neptune incredulously. She certainly did not have to- "I wanted everybody to know just how much I care about you. Which is a whole lot, by the way." Neptune paused, relishing how off guard her comment had made Noire, then grinned wolfishly and added. "People gotta know who you belong to."

"B-Belong to!?" Noire stomped her foot. First that player one and player two nonsense, and now this? She knew Neptune could act like a dirty old man sometimes, Compa alone was more than enough of a witness to testify to that, but this was just ridiculous!

And it wasn't like Nore had ever... Thought about that kind of thing... That is... Neptune _owning_ her...

"Noire, you're making a really dirty face right now."

"I-I don't want to hear that from the person who was yelling about my b-b-butt just a little while ago!"

"But it's a really _nice_ butt..."

Noire bit her lip, wondering if it was possible to blush any more than she already was now.

"A-And if you ever want to go near it, you'd better keep those comments between us... I don't want anyone else getting to see that side of you but me..." Noire had wanted to sound bold, but the words had stumbled out of her mouth and she wasn't even sure if Neptune had heard her.

It took a moment, but a snigger eventually escaped Neptune.

"And you think you're player one."

Noire might have retorted, but honestly, she was just so happy right now that she couldn't really think of anything witty enough that would fit. She watched Neptune, who was busy laughing to herself at her little innuendo, for a few moments, wondering what she should say. A cool feeling washed over her — the oh so familiar feeling of unease rose in her chest.

"... Neptune... Did you mean all of that?"

"What? That you were making a dirty face or that you have a nice butt?" Neptune asked innocently, before raising her hands in her defense upon seeing Noire raise a fist in her direction. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding!"

Typical Neptune.

"Well?" Noire was going to let it go. She wanted an answer — and depending on that answer, then...

"Jeez, Noire..." Neptune actually looked a little hurt. Standing up, Neptune brushed herself off and put her hands on her hips. Noire watched her, unmoving, as Neptune looked up at Noire with a frown. "I go to all the trouble to tell the entire world how I feel about you, and you're still gonna doubt me? What do I have to do to prove it to you?"

In the back of Neptune's mind, as she waited for Noire to respond, she wondered if this wasn't too good to be true. Maybe this was just another punishment for her? Maybe this was a way that karma was getting back at her for trying to be happy while Nepgear was still suffering? Did she even have the right to be happy while Nepgear was in such pain...?!

As Noire opened her mouth to respond, she quickly brushed those thoughts aside. This was about Noire right now. She couldn't be selfish — being selfish was what caused all of her problems in the first place.

And yet... In the pit of her stomach, Neptune couldn't help but feel like this was wrong, somehow.

"I..." Noire trailed off. It wasn't that she doubted Neptune anymore or anything — the fact of the matter was that she was happier right now than she had been in a long time. It was just... She'd gotten her hopes up once already today, and... Was she just putting up her defenses again, like she always did?

"... Don't tell me!" Neptune gasped, drawing Noire (and herself, for that matter) back to the real world. "You're hoping that we'll do that under the starlight, alone in this deserted clearing with nothing but each others' bodies, crying each others names and and and-"

"I wasn't even thinking remotely along those lines!" Noire cried, covering her burning face with her hands. Okay, she totally wouldn't mind if something like that happened someday, but she definitely wasn't ready for it right now either! "Besides, the stars won't be out for hours. I just..."

Neptune looked up at Noire expectantly. She had put everything out in the open now — so why was Noire still holding back? Was it the butt comment?

Seating herself on the grass a little ways away from Neptune, Noire closed her eyes and slowly began to speak.

"I'm scared. I'm scared, deep down, that you're going to turn around any minute now and go 'Just kidding!' or something, even though I know full well you're not. I'm scared that any second now, you'll decide that all your feelings were really just gratitude, and nothing more... I'm scared that this is all some kind of dream, or a sick joke, because there's no way you could ever possibly-"

Opening her eyes, Noire found Neptune had moved over during Noire's tirade and covered her mouth with a hand. She was looking at Noire with an expression of mixed emotions — guilt, fondness, and l... lo... lov... Oh, Noire couldn't even think it!

"If you're gonna be scared, then I'm just gonna have to do everything I can to show you there's nothing to be afraid of," Neptune's voice was calm, and unusually serious for her. After screwing up once today, it was clear that she wanted to get things right this time. She dropped her hand from Noire's mouth to pick up one of the CPU's hands in her own. "Just tell me where to start."

Looking down at their hands, Noire's expression softened. She gave Neptune's hand a squeeze.

This was real.

This was really really real.

"I think you're doing fine."


	21. Chapter 21

For a while, the two of them laid on the grass in silence, holding hands and simply enjoying the company of the other. It was a peaceful moment, one that neither of them wanted to disrupt by speaking. They simply wanted to enjoy the silence and each other for all that they could; it was a moment that was truly priceless.

At least, that was what Noire had thought was going on between the two of them... until she started to hear the sound of quiet snoring coming from her side. The black haired CPU sighed and turned slightly to look at her companion, her... Neptune, she supposed. There just wasn't a better word for what Neptune was to her than that.

And to think... In less than twenty four hours, she and Neptune would be married. It almost didn't seem real. How could it? Things had been moving so fast during just these past few hours alone, and they would probably only move faster still...

"Wait..." Sitting up and letting Neptune's hand fall gently into the grass, Noire put her hand to the chin as she began thinking. What had she just thought? It felt like she was forgetting something important, but she couldn't quite place it... "In less than twenty four hours, we'll be..."

Noire's eyes widened, a light gasp escaping her lips. That was it.

She'd gotten so caught up in everything that it hadn't fully sunk in yet, but... In less than a single day, she and Neptune would be stuck together for life — and what's more, they would be stuck together for life and they shared mutual feelings for each other. What had initially been a simple, selfless move to save her friend's life had turned into a dream come true.

Hesitantly, Noire pinched herself, just to make sure she was definitely awake. Ever since she'd woken up in Neptune's room, things had been so... unreal.

"Ow!" It hurt. It was still real. A grin erupted on Noire's face as the reality of what was happening, what was going to happen, started to hit her. Maybe that was why Neptune had gone to sleep? So she could be at the wedding that much sooner? Noire had half a mind to try to join her at this point!

"Noire? What's the matter?"

Oh, speak of the devil.

"Just thinking about tomorrow," Noire answered, laying back down on the grass to look over at Neptune, still grinning to herself. Though she didn't expect any specific reaction out of Neptune in particular, when Neptune frowned, it certainly made Noire worry a little. Her grin fading, Noire reached for Neptune's hand. "Neptune?"

"I'm just thinking..." Neptune sighed, seemingly unable to meet Noire's gaze. A light panic began to rise in Noire's chest as she watched the girl, clearly distressed, stare aimlessly towards the sky. It was a look that Noire was starting to recognize on Neptune, and that just made her worry more and more. "I- I'm so happy right now, but..."

Had Noire done something wrong?

What could she have done?

Well... I-It's not like she was going to walk on eggshells around Neptune just to keep her happy!

"I can't believe it. I mean, just a few days ago, I felt like I was gonna keel over and die any day!" Neptune shook her head and laughed, as if she'd told a really funny joke. "Now, here I am, all set to marry this drop dead gorgeous CPU — not as gorgeous as yours truly though — who I've realized that I'm crazy about, who I'm starting to realize I've been crazy about, and... And at the same time, though..."

This was bad. Definitely bad. Noire must've done something really bad to get Neptune down on this track. If she was dropping complements like that while looking so depressed, something had to be wrong-

"How long will it take for Nepgear to wake up...?" Neptune's voice was distant, as if she was somewhere else. "Histy said it could take a long time, but... I don't know if I'll be able to feel good about anything until she's up and being her square self again, you know what I mean? It's like... Even with all this good stuff happening... Do I have the right to enjoy it, when Nepgear's suffering like she is? Is it okay for me to be happy with you when Nepgear is..."

Neptune trailed off, as if the guilt she was feeling had eaten up the last of her words.

Oh.

Doing her best not to let out a sigh of relief that Neptune's change in mood hadn't been her fault, Noire gave Neptune's hand a comforting squeeze and laid her head down on the other girl's chest, much to the surprise of both of them — Neptune at the sudden touch of Noire, Noire at how bold she found herself being.

"Stupid..." Whether Noire meant herself or Neptune, she wasn't sure. "Listen, how do you think Nepgear will feel if she wakes up and finds out you did nothing but worry about her the entire time she was unconscious? Just be yourself!"

Neptune grinned sheepishly.

"If I know Nep Jr., she'd probably be thrilled to think I couldn't stop thinking about her."

"... W-Well..." Noire couldn't exactly argue that point. Nepgear adored getting attention from her sister, after all. It was both sweet and just a little bit creepy. Still, that attitude wasn't going to help Neptune any when she was feeling so guilty! "Listen, even Nepgear's love for you has limits! As much as she'll enjoy knowing that you cared enough about her to obsess over it, do you really think she'll be happy to know that you worked yourself to the bone over it? Do you really think she'll be happy to know that you stopped being you over it? That would probably break her heart, Neptune! I can tell you, it's certainly breaking mine!"

Neptune was silent. She knew, deep down, that Noire was right... But at the same time, she couldn't accept that. It wasn't just Nepgear, after all. It was her entire nation — not to mention herself as well, not that that was a big deal. It had been her, ultimately, who had caused this all in the first place after all.

But more than that... She didn't want Noire to get the wrong idea. She was so incredibly happy right now that it hurt — in fact, it did hurt. That was the problem.

"Don't get me wrong, Noire-" Neptune inhaled and paused, as if unsure how to continue. Noire herself paused from continuing, waiting to see just what Neptune would come up with. To her surprise, Neptune smiled softly at her, and Noire could almost feel her hopes rising in her chest. "It's not that I'm not happy about us. Believe me, I am! It's just..." The smile faded and Noire's hopes went crashing down with them. "Do I have the right to be?"

Noire's eyes lit up. Ohhh, she was starting to get really angry now.

"Of course you do, Neptune!" Noire had half a mind to grab onto the other CPU's shoulders and start shaking her, as if that might help any. "You're Neptune! Enjoying things and being happy is like... You don't just 'have the right' to be, it's practically your birthright or something!"

"It was me being me that got her into this to start with," Neptune said quietly, unable to meet Noire's gaze.

"So what? You're just going to stop being you?" Noire sat up, looking away from Neptune. Was this really the same girl that had so happily confessed to her such a short time ago? Was this really the state that Neptune had found herself in, despite all the wonderful things that were happening between the two of them...?

"If that's what it takes, then-"

"Stop it!" Grabbing Neptune's face, Noire pulled the other CPU up to meet her gaze head on. "Now you_ know_ that that's not what Nepgear would want!" A beat. "And it's not what I would want either... Or do I not matter to you? After everything you just told me- Was it all just words?"

Neptune bit her lip, simply choosing to look away from Noire.

So that was how it was going to be, huh?

"Damn it, Neptune! Stop the pity party and realize people love you just the way you are! Just because you're working harder doesn't mean you have to stop being who you are! Stupid!"

Dropping Neptune's face, Noire stood, shaking slightly. She knew Neptune had been hurting, she knew that — who had she been to put so much onto the other CPU? All of her childish fears and worries about their relationship... How could she have done that when Neptune had so many bigger things to worry about?

She... She just couldn't help it. If they were really going to be together, then... She wanted them to be happy! She wanted them to really _be_ together! Was that so wrong?

"... Noire..." It seemed like Neptune had calmed down slightly, but who knew how long that would last for?

"What?" Noire hadn't meant to snap, but she had and now she regretted it. Running a hand through one of her twintails, Noire turned, looking down towards Neptune, who had sat herself upright to look up at Noire curiously.

"Sorry about this. I guess all that confessing got all my other emotions spilling out, haha..." Neptune ran a hand through her short hair and offered a smile, which Noire tentatively returned. She was silent for a few moments, and as Noire was glad to see Neptune back to herself again, she chose not to speak either. "Jeez, and after I go saying all that cool stuff about not being scared and everything...! Man, I must look totally stupid right now, huh?"

"You looking stupid is a charm point," Noire suggested, which got her a tongue stuck out in response. "Oh, come on! After everything you said about me, I think I've earned a few too. Haven't I?"

Neptune crossed her arms.

"I'll think about it."

"Oh, well then, in that case..." Noire rolled her eyes, offering a hand to Neptune. As long as Neptune was back to normal, then she could take whatever Neptune threw at her — or so she thought. Neptune took the offered hand, but instead of pulling herself up, Neptune grinned wolfishly and pulled Noire into her lap. "Wha- Hey! What're you doing!?"

Neptune's eyes had regained their sparkle, and she couldn't help but want to tease Noire now that she had been snapped out of the funk she'd been in. It was her way of saying thank you.

"So... When you said people love me just the way I am..." Neptune's grin widened as she watched Noire start to blush helplessly under Neptune's devious gaze. "Were you talking about Nepgear? Or was there someone else you were thinking about?"

"T-That's..." Noire didn't move, but at the same time, there was no way she could look Neptune in the eye either — not now. She hadn't expected the tables to turn on her so drastically like this, and now she was on the spot and... And...

"Weeeeell?" Neptune paused. "Don't tell me... Did you mean Vert!?"

Oh, to hell with it!

"Stupid!"

Before Neptune could let out a victory cry, Noire pushed her lips against Neptune's into a flustered kiss, as if she could force her way into Neptune and push aside all of the other CPU's worries through physical force and passion.

Noire knew then that they were going to be fine. If Neptune was going to keep her from being scared, then it was Noire's job to keep Neptune from being depressed. It wouldn't be right for her to get help but not give any.

Yeah... They were going to be fine.

"Wow... Noire, that was like, the most perverted kiss I've ever had!"

"S-Stupid! You haven't even had that many kisses!"

"What makes you say that?"

"Wha... H-Have you?"

"Wahaha! A lady never tells!"

"W-W-Whaaaat!? Get back here!"

... Probably.


	22. Chapter 22

It was time for Noire and Uni to go back to Lastation. They would be meeting up with Neptune and Histoire tomorrow in New Consoll City, the neutral territory where the wedding would be held. For now, however, the Lastation CPUs needed to return to their home country to make the final preparations and, more importantly, get some rest.

The group was standing on one of the Basilicom's balconies, saying their farewells. Neptune and Noire's hands lingered, gripping each other gently, but it wasn't to be — not yet, at least. Noire, transformed as Black Heart, eventually floated above where Neptune's hand could reach her. Hovering there, with Uni not too far behind her, she gave Neptune a concerned look.

"Just call me if you start to feel down, okay?" It was clear that Noire didn't want to leave just yet, but things had to be done. Still, after what had happened in the forest, Noire didn't think she could be too careful. Neptune hadn't exactly been "fine" on her own up until this point. "I mean it..."

"Same goes to you, Nep Black!" Neptune offered a heartfelt smile towards her bride-to-be and winked, enjoying the blush spreading on Noire's face from her teasing. "I don't want to hear about you getting scared or cold feet or anything like that come tomorrow. I'll neeeeever let you live it down if you do, okay?"

"H-Hah!" Though she was currently lacking her usual twintails, Noire still made do and tossed a hand through her hair as she always would have. "That's my line, Neptune! If I find out you chickened out or holed yourself up in your room, I'll tear Planeptune apart to find-"

"Sister!" She hadn't wanted to interrupt — truthfully, Uni was feeling rather happy for her sister, if not... just a _little_ bit jealous — but they really did have to get going. "Kei is going to be upset if we're late."

That might have been an understatement. Kei had been... weird lately. The fact that Noire and Uni had unexpectedly stayed overnight in Planeptune would probably just upset her.

"-Ah, right..." Letting out a sigh, Noire floated backwards and gave Neptune and Histoire a small wave. Neptune waved cheerfully back at her, and Noire couldn't help but smile at that. The next time she saw this girl... They would be getting married! "Alright then! I'll see you tomorrow, Neptune! Don't be late!"

As if she were worried that further conversation would spoil something somehow, Noire quickly turned and shot off into the distance, like a rocket, leaving her sister to stare after her. After giving the Planeptune CPU and Oracle a quick goodbye of her own, Uni quickly gave chase... and then that finally left Neptune and Histoire to themselves.

Silence hung over the duo as they watched the Lastation CPU and CPU Candidate go. Unlike those two, all Neptune and Histoire needed to do at this point was show up and bring some Sharicite. The rest had been already taken care of by Histoire and Kei over the past few days.

"... I'm gonna go see Nepgear," Neptune spoke after a few moments, unsure of what she was going to actually do once she got to her sister. But she felt this incredible desire to go see her right now, and if she didn't fulfill it, she didn't know what she would do.

"I understand. I'll go check on IF and Compa in the meantime..." Histoire paused, looking Neptune over. Despite how bad things had gotten, the little Oracle was beginning to realize that Neptune was looking better than she had in weeks. Perhaps this marriage really had been the right choice to make after all. She was glad. "Will you be alright, Neptune?"

"Huh?" Blinking, Neptune turned to her Oracle, before offering the little fairy a grin. "'Course I will be, Histy! I'm getting hitched to the hottest CPU around — after me, that is — and my little sis is gonna be getting better in no time! Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well... If you're sure..." Histoire didn't really have any reason to doubt Neptune, but at the same time, she had all the reason in the world to, didn't she? After everything Neptune had been through... Well, it would be rather easy to be upset. Still, here Neptune was, laughing like things were fine. Maybe things really _were_ fine?

"Sure I'm sure! You don't worry about a thing, Histy!" Turning to go, Neptune began heading into the Basilicom, raising a hand to wave to Histoire as she did. "I've just gotta let Nep Jr. know what's been going on! Poor thing's totally out of the loop, and after Uni was corrupting that innocent little mind of hers for two days, it's up to her big sis to fix her up!"

"C-Corrupting...?" Histoire stared incredulously at Neptune as the CPU disappeared into the Basilicom. Just what was that about?

Neptune had half a mind to peek in on IF and Compa herself as she headed to Nepgear's room, but for some reason, something told her that the two of them wouldn't want to be disturbed right now. Putting her two friends out of her mind, she began jogging slightly, waving to passing employees (what a rare sight!) as she made her way through the building.

So much had happened since she'd last sat down and spoken to her sister... It was kind of funny, really, that she'd been spending this kind of time with her sister now that she was unconscious like this. They'd never really sat down and spent time together before, even when things were going bad in Planeptune.

Heck, a few years had gone by when Neptune had been in a whole other dimension without Nepgear and Neptune hadn't really paid it a second thought. What were a few weeks in comparison to that?

And yet... This was different.

Nepgear had fallen because of Neptune. Planeptune had very nearly done the same because of Neptune. Neptune herself had almost gone the same way because of — guess who? — Neptune. Even now, Neptune could feel it in her bones. She was so much weaker than she used to be. So much more tired.

She supposed that she still shouldn't care — that she just wasn't the type of person to feel guilty about things, but... She was. When something was so blatantly her fault, how could she not? She was a goofball, sure, but she wasn't heartless. She'd screwed up. Big time. And until Noire and Histoire had pulled through and bailed her out, it had looked hopeless — it had looked like no matter what Neptune did, Nepgear would be that way forever. It had looked like Neptune would be falling after her any day.

How could she not feel guilty, knowing that?

Having found herself at Nepgear's room, Neptune hesitantly knocked on the door. She knew there wouldn't be an answer — there never was — but she couldn't help herself. She normally would have just barged in, but this way, if she knocked, there was always a chance that she could get an answer.

As usual, no one answered.

"Here I come!" Making a declaration to no one in particular, Neptune pushed the door open and peered inside the room. Things were exactly the same as they had been when Neptune had been in here last, minus the fact that Uni was no longer present. Besides for the slight rise and fall of her chest, signifying her breathing, Nepgear hadn't moved an inch.

Neptune sighed, moving over to the seat next to the bed and sitting down. It wasn't that she'd gotten her hopes up or anything like that, it was just... Well, maybe it was that she'd gotten her hopes up. Every time she came to see Nepgear, despite the bleakness of their situation, she would always check for changes, always ask Histoire if she had gotten better, always hope beyond hope that Nepgear would wake up.

A few weeks wasn't a long period of time for a CPU. Neptune knew that. In the grand scheme of things, this was nothing. Even if it took Nepgear a whole month — or two! — to wake up after the marriage ceremony was complete, it still wouldn't be even a fraction of her total lifespan. Neptune knew all of this, but at the same time...

She knew that every passing day with Nepgear like this — because of _her_ — was unbearable. She knew that every passing day with Nepgear like this — _because of her_ — felt like a day she could have done better. She knew that every passing day with Nepgear like this — **_because of her_** — was like an eternity in and of itself.

Knowing all of that didn't make the days pass any faster, and it certainly didn't make Nepgear wake up any faster either.

And now, here she was, in a... relationship. It made her smile just thinking about it, but the smile quickly faded.

Noire had been completely right, of course. Noire was smart like that. Neptune knew that Nepgear would be furious with her if she knew that Neptune had done nothing but fret — Nepgear had often said, even when things were going downhill, that one of the things she loved about her older sister was her ability to always take it easy, no matter how bad things were.

As she idly brushed a stand of hair out of Nepgear's face, Neptune wondered if it was that same trait that Nepgear loved so much that had gotten them into this mess.

"So... What do you think, Nep Jr.? Your big sis is getting married! And here I always figured you'd be the one getting hitched first out of us sisters!"

Naturally, there was no response.

"And you know what? I'm happy right now. Happier than I have been in... Shoot, I can't even remember, hahaha! I bet you'd be super jealous of all the time I'm gonna be spending with Noire from now on too!"

No cry of desperation followed, no jealous exclamation declaring that Nepgear would love her sister no matter what.

"I bet we're gonna go on dates, and I'm gonna do a lot more work from now on with her, since our countries are gonna be joined and all... Yeah, it's gonna be me and her from here on out!"

Silence.

"And guess what, Nepgear? I'm... I'm gonna let myself be happy about all of this. I'm not gonna let myself be guilty forever. I'm working my tush off for you — for us — and Noire's doing what she can too. And you're gonna be better soon! It's not a matter of 'if' anymore, it's 'when' now! So Noire's totally right... I can't just mope around forever just because it feels like nothing's changed! So I'm gonna enjoy Noire with everything I've got! And I do mean everything!"

Complete and utter silence.

"... But you know... Nepgear? I'd still make time for you, Nepgear. And no matter what, your cookies are the best!"

No flustered Nepgear. No happy Nepgear. No determined Nepgear.

"So... Hurry up and come back to me, okay?"

No nothing.

* * *

It was late. Under normal circumstances, Chika would be coming in around now to check on Vert and offer her a late night snack, or perhaps suggest heading to bed. Given the fact that they had a wedding to attend tomorrow, the latter seemed like the most likely option for the green haired Oracle. Perhaps Chika would have tried to join in on whatever Vert was doing, tried to get in some quality time.

But tonight was different.

"Sister...? What are you doing up so late?" The Oracle was just a tad concerned. Rather than play her usual assortment of games, Vert had been acting a little odd today. She'd seemed very... distracted. Chika had noticed that Vert couldn't sit still, and had been looking at various maps and Share graphs for the majority of the day. In fact, if Chika didn't know better (did she?), then she could have sworn that Vert hadn't touched a game all day.

It wasn't as if Vert was one to ignore her duties as a goddess — true, she was rather infamous in her slacking off in favor of gaming, second only to Neptune in that regard, but when push came to shove, Vert could work as hard as anyone. So to see Vert working wasn't exactly an unheard of occurrence, but at the same time... Whatever Vert was doing with all of these maps and graphs, Chika didn't have the slightest idea. It certainly didn't look like any work Chika knew of.

"Oh, nothing important. I'll be heading to bed shortly. Maybe I'll get in a little grinding before I call it a night... You go to sleep, Chika. I'm fine."

Despite her words, supposed to comfort her, it appeared to Chika that her beloved sister had no intention of booting up any MMO tonight.

She was starting to worry.


	23. Chapter 23

Blanc couldn't remember the last time she'd worn a dress like the one she had on now. She didn't think the twins had _ever_ worn ones like what they were wearing, for that matter. They certainly weren't acting like people who were used to dressing up "like fancy snobs," as Ram had put it. If nothing else, Blanc thought that Mina looked rather elegant in the dress she was wearing, but that wasn't saying much — Mina would probably look decent in anything. It was her personality that could be an issue sometimes.

Somehow, she and the rest of her group from Lowee had been the first of the guests to arrive at the place where the ceremony was to take place. Neptune and Noire were nowhere to be seen, but Histoire was engaging Kei in conversation off to the side, and Blanc could see Uni fidgeting in the dress she had been put in — doing her best to appear dignified and used to wearing such a thing.

The area that the wedding was taking place looked similar to a large ballroom, except for the fact that it was entirely outdoors, allowing it to expand even further than a typical ballroom would. It was floating up in the air, allowing the people who had come from far and wide to get a view from below, and was large enough for all of the CPUs, Candidates, Oracles, and their close friends to be able to have seats with plenty of room to spare.

Up above the floating ballroom were two large, glowing Sharicite crystals. One was Planeptune's, the other was Lastation's. The two crystals shone brightly, though the glow of the Planeptune crystal was considerably duller than the Lastation one, and were floating about, circling each other as if they were dancing with each other, as if they were excited for the events that were to come.

Blanc wasn't particularly interested in conversing with anyone, especially the few people that were actually there at the moment, so she opted to find a seat and be alone. She'd brought a book for the offchance that this dragged on and got boring — there had never been a wedding of CPUs before, so she wasn't sure — and as she pulled that out, she noticed her sisters dash over to Uni to start a discussion, while Mina headed over to her fellow Oracles to join in on their conversation.

She suspected that things wouldn't be starting for a while. There were still plenty of guests that had yet to arrive — in particular, there was a party from an entirely different world coming — so Blanc figured she was going to be making decent headway in the book she'd brought with her. It didn't take long for Blanc to get absorbed into the story that the book wove for her, but it took just a second for her to get ripped out of it.

"My my, that looks interesting. What's it about, Blanc?"

Blanc immediately closed the novel at the sound of that irritating voice, a frown growing on her face as she turned to meet the cheerful gaze of the CPU of Leanbox. Just the last person Blanc wanted to see right now.

"As if you'd know anything about books, Vert," came the oh-so-cheerful response from Blanc, turning her gaze towards the Oracles. Just as she suspected, Chika had joined the other three, making for a complete set. "I bet you wouldn't know quality reading if it smacked you in the face."

"As a matter of fact, I happen to know the main character's father dies," Vert's response was immediate and sounded far too knowing for Blanc to like. But more to the point-!

"T-That's-" Blanc rose from her seat indignantly. If there was one thing in this world she hated, it was spoilers. She was known to cut herself off from the internet for days on end when she found herself engrossed in a good book — just on the offchance she might find out details by accident. "That's impossible! The main character can't have a father, because she's a clone!"

"Or _is_ she?" Vert's smile could have stretched all the way from Planeptune to Lastation. Blanc stared at Vert for a few moments, her eyes widening as she tried to process this horrible thing she had been told.

"Well, it was a shitty book anyway!" Blanc promptly thrust the book out to Vert, her hand landing square in the blonde CPU's ample chest along with the book in her hand.

"Was it? Or was that just an excuse for you to...?" Vert, rather than look affronted, looked extremely amused as Blanc's face began turning red in anger as she realized where her hand had landed. "If you'd wanted to touch them so badly, you know, all you had to do was ask, Blanc."

"Oh, would you shut up!?" Blanc cried. "The only reason I touched them is because they're so goddamn big that you can't _not_ hit the damn things! I don't know how you manage to not knock everything over just by walking around!"

"You can yell all you like, but you and I both know you're just jealous," Vert crossed her arms under her chest, accentuating her ample assets, as if to make her point clear, before she turned to leave. She paused, and with a sigh, turned back to Blanc. "Keep the book. I was only joking — you are just much too easy to rile up these days, Blanc."

"I am not!" Blanc's defiant cry went without any kind of response from Vert, who had decided it was time to find someone who was more willing to talk to her. Sighing, the CPU of Lowee ran a hand through her hair. She missed her hat.

Blanc watched Vert start up a conversation with Uni, recalling her suggestion. She didn't intend to touch the book now — even if they were fake, spoilers were spoilers, and she'd be wondering the entire time she was reading if or when what she'd been told would happen. She'd overanalyze every word and she just wouldn't be able to enjoy it at all.

Settling back into her seat, Blanc decided she might as well just watch people show up. Maybe the other people would know better than to bother her.

Just as she'd hoped, silence finally returned to Blanc as more and more guests arrived. The ones that had been intent on bothering her found themselves more willing distractions in other guests, leaving Blanc free to enjoy her solitude. Now that her interest in her book was all but gone, Blanc chose to spend her time watching the other people that had been invited to this little event.

This world's IF and Compa were, as usual, sticking close to each other and enjoying some kind of conversation with Cave, 5pb., and MAGES., while the other world's IF and Compa were apparently still trying to get over the shock that was the childish person that had practically raised them was getting married. NISA was practicing the speech she had been preparing for the occasion for anyone that would listen (at the moment, only the softspoken Tekken), while Gust was tossing over the edge of the "ballroom" what appeared to be business cards for the unsuspecting people below. MarvelousAQL was desperately struggling with the new dress she had bought (apparently a few sizes too small, like all clothes of hers tended to be), much to the delight of RED, who was watching without even an ounce of subtlety as her predatory gaze was trained solely on MarvelousAQL.

Mina was chasing desperately after the group of children, led by Ram, who were in turn chasing Broccoli around. Kei was engaging CyberConnect2 in some kind of conversation — Blanc was too far away from that particular pair to catch any details — and Uni was asking whoever was willing to listen if she should go look for Falcom, who was probably lost somewhere, possibly looking for the other Falcom. Chika was fawning over the Vert from the other world, who was engaged in a passionate discussion about Nepgear's best features with her counterpart from this world. There was also the group of wackos called the Seven... Somethings, but Blanc gave them one look and knew that she wanted nothing to do with them, especially given what she knew of their "leader" figure.

Lastly, that left... Her own counterpart's group. Blanc felt a frown growing on her face as she watched the trio of CPUs — the other world's Noire, the other world's version of herself, and that Plutia character. It was obvious to anyone who watched them for more than a few moments that the other Blanc and Noire were vying for Plutia's affection, and the other Blanc was actually rather open about it...

Blanc looked away.

If she was more like that, would the feelings she'd been feeling so often lately still be bothering her? If she had been bolder, if she had made a move... Would she be...?

Blanc shook her head.

It didn't matter now. It was too late for what ifs. It was too late to make a move. It was too late to do anything about anything.

As music began to play, Blanc caught a glimpse of the guests of honor — the brides to be — making their arrival, and her heart stopped upon seeing Neptune looking so happy in her wedding gown, so happy to be almost married to Noire... So, so happy...

Yes... It was far, far too late.


	24. Chapter 24

Neptune knew she should be paying more attention to what was going on. Neptune knew that she should be paying more attention to the things that were being said. Neptune knew that she should be paying more attention to all of the people that had come to give their blessings. Neptune knew that she should be paying more attention to a lot of things, quite frankly.

She _knew_ this...

But all she could pay attention to was the black haired goddess before her.

Did she mean that literally, or did she just have it _that_ bad? Neptune wasn't sure. Probably the former. Hopefully the former. If it wasn't the former, she was in more trouble than she thought she was.

Once enough time had passed to allow most of the guests to arrive, Neptune and Noire were to make their entrance. They weren't transformed — though it was expected for CPUs to be transformed when wed, due to the unfortunate fact that spending the entire ceremony in her HDD form could likely drive Neptune over the edge at this point, Noire suggested that the two of them just forget that little rule. Despite the fact that they weren't "transformed," one might argue that they were plenty transformed just by how different they looked: clad in matching wedding gowns, their hair let down with ornate crowns native to their individual nation... The two looked absolutely breathtaking.

Large screens (no, large didn't do them justice — _enormous_ probably fit better) were spread about the area below the floating ballroom so that the people that had come to show their support could have a proper view of the events happening above. Neptune wasn't sure where the cameras were that were filming what was being shown on the different screens (oh, she was on that one! better wave!), but she had to admit, the whole spectacle was pretty impressive for something that had been thrown together in just a few days.

Neptune smiled brightly as she heard cheers erupt from below as she waved. Looks like she still had a chance to make people believe in her yet.

"Attention, everyone! Could you please be seated so we could get started? Attention, everyone..."

Neptune watched Histoire try her best to get everyone to settle down. Apparently everyone had been having a good time before she and Noire had arrived — and who could blame them? It wasn't every day they all got together like this. When there wasn't some kind of epic threat on the horizon forcing them to travel together, it seemed like far too often they were all too busy doing their own things to hang out... Or maybe it was just Neptune? Well, either way, she'd have to fix that once Nepgear was better — maybe she'd throw a party for Nepgear once she woke up!

Though she really wanted to talk to some of her friends (she hadn't seen a lot of them in ages!), Neptune knew she had to wait until after the ceremony ended. She fidgeted in her dress, scanning the crowd. It looked like everyone was here — the pair of Falcoms had just arrived, which seemed to make everyone — and they were all engaged in something or another as they got themselves seated. Neptune couldn't help but grin to herself knowingly as she watched the Blanc and Noire from the other world argue over who got to sit next to Plutia, while Plutia just seemed happy over the attention. Neptune wondered what would have happened if Plutia had been in her position...

But nah, that wouldn't happen. As similar as she and Plutia were, the other Noire would never let anything serious happen to Plutia, especially considering how much time she spent in Planeptune compared to her own nation. Laughing a bit at the memories, Neptune wondered if they'd ever get hitched without events having to push them together. Maybe she and her Noire would be the inspiration they needed?

Speaking of her Noire... Fidgeting some more, Neptune glanced at Noire, who seemed perfectly comfortable in the dress she found herself in. Typical of Noire, really! Always trying to show Neptune up! Pushing her lower lip out into a pout, Neptune crossed her arms and did her best to get comfortable — but she just wasn't used to this kind of formal wear, especially in this form!

"Hey, don't make a face like that, people are watching," Neptune blinked as Noire bent over and pressed her fingers against Neptune's lips, pushing them back to their normal setting. A light blush rose to Neptune's cheeks as Noire pulled away. "Jeez, it's a good thing I'm here. Who knows what kind of impression you'd make without me..."

"Okay, _mom_," Neptune countered half-heartedly, shooting Noire a look before turning away. It was really hard to get mad at Noire when the whole world was looking at her _and_ Noire was looking so good and _professional_ like that with her hair down and everything! Eyes lighting up as Neptune saw the cameras were focused on the two of them and she realized just how she could get back at the other CPU, Neptune leaned over to Noire on her tiptoes and whispered into Noire's ear... "You look great, by the way."

"W-W-Wha-" Noire turned bright red at the sudden and unexpected complement, any pretense of acting cool and calm completely lost. Catcalls and cheers and whistles began erupting from the people below the ballroom, and Neptune grinned happily as Noire's blush darkened — mission accomplished! "Y-You did that on purpose!"

"You bet I did, Sexy Heart!" Neptune's grin was a mile wide at how easy this was. Teasing Noire had always been fun, but now there was a thrill to it that she just couldn't put into words. She was sorely tempted to plant a kiss on Noire's cheek just for the effect, but she decided against it — for now. The poor CPU was turning so red that Neptune knew she'd probably blow up if pushed anymore, and Neptune didn't want that to happen until they were alone...

"H-Honestly..." Noire crossed her arms and shook her head, doing her best to shake away Neptune's words. Really now, saying such things in public — and within earshot of all of their friends no less! She could tell that quite a few of them had heard Neptune's little declaration just now, if the various blushes and sniggers were any indication... Not that it mattered, with everything floating around on the internet, but still! I-It was embarassing!

"Honestly is absolutely right. Everyone is watching! Must you really f... _flirt_ now of all times?" The pair of CPUs blinked, drawn away from their flirting — had they really been flirting? — to realize that, indeed, everyone was seated and watching them expectantly, Histoire more than anyone. "Now that I have your attention, could you please take your places?"

"Sure thing, Histy!" Neptune thrust a fist into the air, ready to get this over with as soon as possible, while Noire simply nodded graciously — always the picture of attention and hard work, that Noire. Fighting back the urge to stick her tongue out at the other CPU, Neptune crossed her arms behind her back and headed towards her spot at the far end of the ballroom, Noire close behind her.

It was time to get the show on the road!

* * *

As the sound of cheers erupted from below, Neptune idly wondered if one hour or three hours had passed since this wedding (was it a wedding or was it a conference?) had started. Histoire and Kei had been doing a lot of talking, making all kinds of promises and explaining how this union was going to effect the world, detailing the great things that were to come, and all kinds of informative stuff like that for a while now. It was stuff that Neptune knew and understood, and had even had a part in helping decide and plan out during the three days after the initial announcement had been made, but...

Right now, she was just supposed to stand there and look pretty and hold onto the Planeptune Sharicite crystal that she'd brought. Sure, that was nice for her ego and all, but it was just so boring. She couldn't talk to Noire, she couldn't wave to or make faces at any of her friends, all she could to was stand there in these horrific heels and make nice faces on the offchance that a camera was turned towards her.

"And now, without further ado, we shall begin the union of Purple Heart and Black Heart in earnest!" At Histoire and Kei's words, the loudest wave of cheers yet (Neptune would have made a comment to Noire that the people must have been getting bored too) came. "Would our lovely goddesses please approach each other with their Sharicite?"

This was it.

Clutching her crystal close to her, Neptune strode towards Noire, who was all the way at the other end of the ballroom. They were to meet in the center and exchange crystals, as a way of showing their union, their handing their fate away to be forever shared from this moment on. As Neptune got closer to Noire, she realized that Noire looked rather nervous — scared, even — and shot her black haired CPU a smile, as if to tell her that everything would be okay, that this was really happening and she didn't need to worry one bit.

Noire smiled back, a light blush rising to her cheeks, as she finally reached the center of the end of the ballroom just as Neptune did. They stood, gazing into each other's eyes and waiting for Histoire's words to edge them into the next phase of the ceremony. For a moment, time seemed to stand still. Their hearts pounded away in their chests and they realized that there was no turning back now.

But they both knew now that neither of them would turn back for anything.

"With the exchanging of the Sharicite, the CPUs trust their fate, their life, and their hearts in each other. Are you two prepared to make this commitment to each other?"

"I, Black Heart of Lastation, am prepared to make this commitment. I am prepared to trust my fate, my life, and my heart to Purple Heart of Planeptune," Noire's words were solemn and heartfelt, and as soon as she finished, she held out her Sharicite for Neptune to take without a moment's hesitation. Neptune couldn't help but inhale sharply — way to put the spotlight on her!

"And I, Purple Heart of Planeptune, am also prepared to make this commitment," To her surprise, Neptune found the words rolling out of her mouth as if she had always been ready to say them. She was sure she would stumble over her words or crack a joke and spoil the mood, but no, she was taking this completely seriously. She found herself smiling warmly at Noire as she finished her pledge. "I am prepared to trust my fate, my life, and my heart to Black Heart... to Noire of Lastation."

A dark blush rose to Noire's cheeks as Neptune went off script. It wasn't as if it was a drastic thing, but it was enough to make Noire's heart race. This was supposed to be a serious, solemn ceremony, after all! And to drop a name into it like that... And for it to be _her_ name... Of course it would make her...

Noire took a deep breath. Now wasn't the time to get flustered! She knew Neptune hadn't been trying to tease her — not that time at least. She was just... being Neptune. She held her crystal close and waited for the prompt to exchange it with Neptune's. After that, they would be just about finished — and then she and Neptune would be tied together forever.

"Very well!" Histoire's voice was loud and booming (but only thanks to the microphones, of course); it felt as though it shook across the entire city. Neptune had to fight back a wince at hearing the voice of her Oracle reverberating like that — it was bad enough to have her yelling at her on normal levels, if she started with her voice superpowered, then she'd be doomed! "Will you please exchange Sharicite crystals?"

The two CPUs nodded at Histoire and then turned to face each other. This was it. They were just about at the big finale. With one arm, they held out their own Sharicite crystal. With the other, they took the Sharicite crystal that was being offered to them. They held each other's Sharicite gently, holding it close with both hands, and letting the warmth of the other nation spread throughout their body.

As they held the foreign crystals, the CPUs felt drastically different things. To Neptune, the Lastation Sharicite she held was like a new beginning. It was as if she was cradling hope itself, the hope that would someday help restore her nation and her sister to their former glory. Neptune smiled as she held the crystal, knowing that things really would be okay now. To Noire, on the other hand, the Planeptune Sharicite was something much, much different. The glow was so much dimmer than that of her own crystal, and the warmth it radiated was nothing compared to her own crystal. She knew, as she held it, that Neptune really had been on the brink of losing it all — and she felt determination fill her. She would never let this crystal, or any other Planeptune Sharicite, reach this state again.

"And now... The CPUs shall link themselves to the Sharicite of their partner nation!" Histoire declared, her enhanced voice once again echoing throughout the city. Neptune and Noire both heard the cheers erupt from the masses below, but at the moment, they paid them no mind. This was their moment. For the two CPUs, there were only the two of them right now.

Closing her eyes, Neptune began the process of linking to the Sharicite crystal in her arms as Noire did the same across from her. It was something she knew had known how to do since she had come into existence as Planeptune's goddess — but until this instance, she had never linked to the Sharicite of another nation. Once done, she (as well as Planeptune as a whole — not to mention Nepgear) would be forever linked to the nation and shares of Lastation, just as she was linked to the nation and shares of Planeptune. They would become part of her, and she part of them.

Neptune's breath began to grow ragged as she continued the process. The further along she got, the greater she felt a connection to Noire and, to a lesser extent, to Uni. She kept feeling brief flashes of their thoughts and feelings — nothing concrete enough for her to formulate into words, but solid enough for her to know who it came from. What's more... The more she built the link, the more Noire built her own link with Planeptune, the more she felt power and energy rushing into her. It was a feeling, though familiar, that she hadn't felt in a long, long time. From her fingertips to her toes, she felt a rush, a tingling sensation running through every part of her body. She felt like she was on fire! It was incredible!

Unable to hold it in any longer, Neptune cried out and tossed her head back, letting herself be enveloped by a bright, shining light as she let the rush of power overtake her very being.

As the light faded, gasps began to rise from the gathered guests — not to mention the crowd below. Unwillingly, Neptune had transformed into Purple Heart. But this Purple Heart was different — no longer did she appear tired and weak, as she had for months. She looked strong and radiant, like the goddess that she was.

As Noire transformed next to Neptune, to match her partner and complete the ceremony with a passionate kiss, their first in their transformed states, the loudest wave of cheers yet erupted — perhaps this time because quite a few of the gathered guests up on the floating ballroom floor joined in this time, and one thought rang true in the minds of so many of the people in the city below as well as those watching around the world.

Planeptune was back.


End file.
